I can already see the headlines in the Malaysian Star on the 12th of August: "BAM blasts BWF after China dominance" LCW is already mentally defeated. All this "BWF is against me" bravado is just making excuses in advance. It's not very professional IMO. World championships is about the best players competing and it's a shame if LCW really said what he said.
Unfortunately, compared with Tennis, badminton fans here are not as enlightened and reasonable... Didn't recall the WR#1 and their fans in both tennis cases screamed that it was unfair to grant Goran and Kim the wild cards...
Next posts will prove you're wrong. I'm not sure with the others, but i personally prefer a match between LD and LCW rather than LCW vs lesser known player. Talking about it, i think LD also had worked hard before he get to his position nowdays, the status that became one of the reason for the wildcard gift. Next year maybe?
Okay, lets have something fun: Only for those who is following malaysian election news: Lin dan, ranked 41 in the world and having no games played for 8 months is unable to play in the world championships. However, after a Malaysian Blackout, Lin Dan was given a wild card and join the tournament.
I agree that we need to verify if LCW really said that because I know these day all top players have PR managers to write them scripts for every situation so they do not offend anyone and make the sponsors happy (to support/pay them). However, I understand the pressure on LCW's shoulders is lot more now since LD is in, especially when he lost so many big matches to him before and mentally it is very hard to remove it. On the other hand, here is the moment that LCW can prove to the world he is a true champion by winning this title at Chinese player's back yard.
From what I've gathered, I speculate that the personal rivalry between Lin Dan and Chen Long has begun. The last one month or so, Lin Dan has been playing training/sparring matches with all his teammates except Chen Long, with the tacit approval and understanding of the coaches to keep the suspense between them. Apparently, they don't want to know each other's game too well, for good reason. Regarding those matches Lin Dan played, it was reported he won more than he lost, not that he won most of them - that should give us a rough indication of his current form. It was also said the teammates took their matches seriously and relished beating him. As kwun said, three months may not be enough for Lin Dan to get back to near-peak form after having laid off regular/systematic training for six months or tournament competition for about eight months. But Lin Dan being Lin Dan, I believe once he sets his mind on it - to win the world championship - he might just be able to do it, I mean get into tip-top condition. Looks like we're in for a grand treat this WC, largely thanks to Lin Dan, Lee CW and Chen Long.
Yes it happened today... If BAM and CW did say what qas reported, it just shows a typical case of how immature the stakeholders in badminton sport are... This is sad and not good for the sport. Similar case in tennis, when Kim came out of retirement and given a wild card to US Open 2009 and go on to win the title, and no one yelled like BAM and CW today. Badminton will never be as prosperous as tennis having stakeholders like these...
Such a statement like that is inconsistent in tone to LCW's previous statements in other situations. I, myself, wouldn't make a judgement as yet. The press like to stir things up so it is very possible words have been taken out of context. I have seen misreporting of LCW's words that he said in a press conference. I was present there and the report had some differences in meaning to spoken LCW's words.
Actually, you should pay attention this time round to another pan American badminton player. I rate Osleni Guerrero from Cuba very highly. He's very strong and he's very talented too. Not saying he's capable of beating Chen Long, but he is a good player of the same level as Cordon. He just doesn't have the finance for many competitions. Not sure if Cordon is coming, he injured himself quite badly in Peru about a month ago. Heard it was quite serious.
Well I hope so, sometimes there is a difference to what was said and what was reported. Especially when the interview was probably carried out in Malay (if carried out at all) and then translated to English.
What a comparison . Retired because of injury problems, two years off and squeezing out a newborn. Nobody expected her to have a chance of winning and it's not like there were 3 other Belgian world class players in the draw fighting for the greater good of the Kingdom of Belgium. Lin Dan just had a nice period off to regenerate his aging body (and mind), whilst LCW has been flying all over the world because it is mandatory/expected ... (badminton has a ridiculously short off season ) I'm not saying the decision isn't logical, because it is for commercial purposes, but saying it isn't an advantage for LD/"China" is just ignorant. That said, LCW should turn the knob and re-focus ... and retire after the WC . Tennis wildcards are usually given to players coming back from long injury layoffs (Ivanisevic, Clijsters, etc., etc., etc., or local promising talent by local organizers or in Kuznetsov's and Shelby Rodgers' case: they won the USTA wildcards race). All Ivanisevic skipped was the qualifying tournament (it's not like he was not even eligible to play that)
here is the thing, BWF fined Lin dan for not participating enough tournaments in 2012. and then now they give him a wild card for not participating enough tournament in 2012. Well Done BWF!!! BWF send off 4 pairs of WD in olympics for reason of fairness over viewership. BWF send Lin Dan into the World championship for reason of viewership over fairness. Great Job BWF!!! I can see that other sports are laughing at this diminishing sport.
