The first report vanished before I could post so here's the second try. 1) Spectacular collapses Who would expect WYH and HHB/YY of sure wins to lose without a fight to 'non-opponents' and to a certain extent LCW to 'on-and -off opponent' in Sony? In all 3 cases, one reason must be complacency. But in WYH and HHB/YY, the key cause has to be zero rote training as their opponents won't be good enough to be worth the rote effort. But as WYH proved in MO09, that oversight is easily rectified. DEN XD #2 beat HHB/YY with plenty of guile and superb tactical preparations. They mixed up the serve and game so well CHN XD was kept guessing and led to play hide-&-seek with them.Good natured HHB was so stressed up he gestured , for the first time, to YY to shut up.YY was so caught offguard she forgot her famous time-wasting tactic (Well, she did not sweat enough to ask for the floor to be mopped.) As for LCW, mistake #1 was to believe that Fred, the mental expert, is a good substitute for solid tactical preparations against unpredictable opponents.Has LCW ever won a title with Fred in tow? None.(I may be wrong). Fred is false insurance. Mistake #2 was to believe that WC is an important title. (After all, LYB said it's every year...) And as such, asked for extra support. A folly when he only has 50% control of the ultimate outcome and cannot guarantee to deliver. It sets him up for panic in a tight situation and did Sony give him an education... Will he stand up to his bosses to stop bugging him? Or will his bosses understand not to bug him? He cannot guarantee a match outcome but he can decide on his preparations and as long as he's put in the best efforts in match preparations, he should have the best confidence in match outcome. Will LCW ever learn that his confidence lies with superb match preparations and nothing else?
hahahaha and your rote training mentally deluded rubbish. Just can't hack it but to take cheap digs at chinese players you sad person. Too bad WYH, HHB/YY are still young, whilst LCW is finished soon.
2) Crowd factor The local Indian crowd was very fragmented in its appreciation of great badminton. Naturally, they were there to root for the local players but like all other local crowds elsewhere except jia you fans, their local heroes have to lift up their spirits before they can put in theirs. So it was when Saina beat Petya of Bulgaria. Petya did not lose to Saina but to the local crowd. Petya felt victimised and gave up her fight. She has it in her to defeat Saina in their next meeting. Definitely a WS to watch if she has some crowd support. Saina couldn't do enough against WL so the Indian crowd could not intimidate WL the way the INA crowd did in IO09. Towards the end in the MD Finals, it was heartening to note the responsiveness of the Indian crowd. They were rewarded with badminton at its best and that's because they worked for it by supporting both teams. Maybe India is ready to host an SS, instead of just GP Gold? Just how important is the crowd factor in swinging the match outcome? From the WC experience, I would say it varies with the players. European players reacted positively and quickly when cheered on even if done in a subdued manner. Maybe it's because they did not expect it in Asia.( I remember in So09, someone called out 'Germany' when the GER MD was playing HS/MK and they just took off, harassing the top MD right to the end. Actually European players have it in them to upset their Asian counterparts. They just lack the confidence and self belief. Some crowd support helps reinforce their self worth and that's when they show their best. When European players play their best, there's no reason why they can't be the best. European players, especially in doubles, have the best chance against CHN. That's because CHN would rote train against Asian opponents but less likely against Europe. The DEN syllabus is too vast and vague.If CHN add on the DEN course, it may compromise their preparations against their Asian foes. No matter how unlimited the diligence, there's a load limit to rote. But CHN may just prove unlimited capacity there. The future will tell. If there's one advantage Europe has over Asia, it would be in tactics. If the European players have sufficient skills, speed and power, their edge in tactics will give them the advantage. Their wins over their top Asian opponents indicate superb pre-match preparations in tactics and unrelenting focus during matchplay. One thing I can't understand about Team Europe. Why can't their teammates cheer their players in relay style, taking turns to provide support? That happened for PHY, which proved to be something better than nothing. They can hope but can't count on Asian fans to root for them.
Jelous of a loser? As if......... Just fed up with the bullcrap excuses made up for his limitations. Pjswift is like the biasest of all with her outsandingly ridiculous sour grape analysis, spoonfeeding people full of rubbish.
I dont' see anybody winning in MS right now (big tourneys) except for LD... Though yes, there are a crapload of stupid excuses for LCW's failure (again), I think it's just safe and (unbiased) to say that he wasn't playing as well as Sony that day, and in the end, lost.
#1, beg to differ on this. You see, LCW did improve on this WC with Fred's assistance. LCW lost in QF in a 3 set fight to SDK. On his last WC (2007), LCW lost to the same SDK in Round 2 in 2 sets of dismal scores of 9-21 and 11-21. So in 2009 WC, LCW improved in surviving one additional round AND in his scores. If that is not improvement i don't know what is. lol. #2, Sorry if LYB's advice didn't work out for LCW. LYB's advice sure helped LD alot. lol So Pjswift, please don't be so jealous of LD getting coaching advices from LYB and tangfu, maybe these advices only work on china players lol Real lesson i see here is: look within yourself and find what work best for u even tho your neighbor's pasture may look greener but it doesn't mean the grasses taste better for u.
An article in the most recent New Scientist claims that players/teams wearing red can make opponents "timid" at the subconscious level (and consequently perform slightly worse). So, let's suggest LCW wear red all the time.
Is that true??.. ..ehhmm, don't tell that to the Spanish/Matador bullfighters waving the red piece of cloth in front of a pissed off bull...LCW wearing a red outfit might spark even more fume for LD.. ..in this case, LCW gets a bit "weak in the knees" when he sees LD wearing that shiny yellow outfit.. - Is that true only in India? I thought good and entertaining matches, esp. the recent WC MD Final match, are equally enjoyed and appreciated by any group of spectators from any country? - If the European players have the tactics, they wouldn't go home with only 1 medal. Maybe it's more of a reality that the MD and XD events are really the "up-for-grabs" events in baddy.
yes, historically, yellow color is reserved for highest royalty only. If u r not the emperor and wore yellow and caught by his soldier or snitch, say your prayer
Agrees with Jasonmarc, Pj. Just post your unreserved observations and we will decide how to digest ourselves. Good or bad ones.
i think that was an uncall for degrading remark about the european players. The simple fact is european players studied their strongest opponents which currently are mostly asian teams where as i bet HHB/YY nor the chinese coaches have any insight on fischer/pedersen's play style. While u gave descriptive highlight on HHB/YY losing to fischer/pedersen, funny u didn't talk about how the #1 seed LYD/JHL KOR lost to laybourn/juhl. Then again u do enjoy only expounding on chinese losses. Example case: Wang lee lost to Saina N. in INA open but WL sure fixed Saina N. in 2 sets when they met again in 09 WC even with all the cheering and home soil advantage for Saina. U forgot to say it was actually LYB who beat Saina N. LOL When Saina won over Petya u said it was the home crowd that beat Petya but when WL beat Saina, u casually said: the indian crowd didn't work on WL, "From the WC experience, I would say it varies with the players." This contradict your previous long standing position that it was all the jia you that propelled the chinese to win. Your lessons and observations are full of holes.