That's why Tang Xianhu,whenever people praised him for being a great coach,would often say no,the player is more important. If WSX continues not acquiring a more attacking game, she will soon end up like like Jiang YJ, a sidekick.
Ok that's fine if Wang Shixian continues to be stubborn and feels that she could win a tournament without knowing how to smash...then feel free to stick her own style.. As result, she will slowly get sidelined and turned into an object to be manipulated in match-fixings...She wont have a given chance to win any major tournament after this Olympics. What a stubborn and immature girl? Wish people could send their constructive feedback about her style to her directly to hopefully knock some sense into her..
In WSX's defense: You don't get to be a top-ranked player without doing a lot of things right. Despite all the brickbats she has received recently, WSX has still managed to remain in the top 5 world ranking for longer than most others. So why is she tanking it now? I believe that some of the backroom people at CBA need to take the blame for this, partly if not fully. WSX has had a long-standing issue with her posture, and I've never seen a concerted effort for this to be corrected. Her posture is a liability when it comes to the coordinated movement of trunk, shoulders, arms, hips etc for effective smashing. Her court coverage is up there with the best. Her retrieval ability is equally good. But her game lacks the dimensional fullness of say, WX or WL or XXF. She needs to take a clue from their posture. She still has it in her to be a killer weapon.
How could you say this about Wang Shixian? . OMG... How could you say this about Wang Shixian? How could Wang Shixian be having excellent results (check here - http://bwfcontent.tournamentsoftware.com/ranking/player.aspx?id=3374&player=108497 ), if she didn't feel free to stick to her own style? .
For those who dont know, Wang Shixian is considered a Three Star player based on her achievements up to date: She has won all the major titles (both singles and team events) except for the Olympics and World Championships. The only player to match/even better her feat is Wang Yihan who is about complete her Super Series and Premier collections and also only have Asian Games and Olympic missing I was looking forward to see more rivalry between these two Queens but not anymore because Wang Shixian isn't up to the challenge. I am gutted and sad at the same time to see Wang Shixian falling into this situation. If only she improved and add more variables into her game.....sigh
Don't be gutted. Be supportive. Don't criticize too easily, whether is it WSX or another player. Everyone is human and these are young peole who still have a lot to experience and learn.
There's no other better word to replace the word immature about Wang Shixian... Zhang Ning from time to time again lectured and advised her to play shots according to her instructions but she always refused because it's not her style..If she cannot obey, how is that consider mature for professional player. Tang Xianhu must train her and force her to adapt and start pushing herself to be a complete player. You know i get so agitated when I watched some of her rallies that were wasted simply because she refused to smash. When she caught her opponent wrong footed, instead of a smash delivery, it doesn't take a genius to guess what she is going to do next : Punch Clear. Had she decided to smash on these occasions, she could have actually won the point rather than forcing the opponent to make unforced errors. I can conclude unless she learns how to smash and starts to smash like Wang Xin (whom by the way is shorter than her by 1/2 inches) , I dont think she is going far..
If WSX is stubborn about a certain style of play or if she does not adapt to another style of play, there must be a physiological reason to back her up. She would have tried it often and not succeeded. Again, the coaches and support staff are not doing a comprehensive-enough review of the issues she is facing. If intense physiotheraphy is required for extensive periods, they must be willing to go for it now, when she still has a few good years ahead, than later, when it is too late.
OK, I shall tell her to smash more often in future . OK, I shall tell her to smash more often in future. Yes, I have a direct communication with her (to tell her about your message). .
There's no point to tell her to smash more often if she couldnt even smash properly.. Watch at 20-17 first set against Fanetri, she couldnt smash a half court lift. It's evident she actually doesn't know how to smash effectively and properly at the given opportunity because it seems she never planned to add attacking shots in her game. It's really a shame because that match finally reveals her technical inabilities and raised concerns in contrast to LI Xuerui and Wang Xin's technical analysis when the Chinese medias started digging deeper to technically compare the four players. It's not the first time I have seen her making smash and net kill blunders. By giving away a punch clear and drop to her opponents when she should have just tried to finish it with a smash, she is giving them the advantage to counter attack when the opportunity arises. Pity the coaches in the background did not come into conclusion that's her biggest issue really. It's more or less too late for her to prove that she could still improve with less than 60 days to go in Olympics. Honestly after watching Wang Shixian played so badly against Wang Yihan and Fanetri recently, I am glad Li Xuerui came into the picture at the right time because her meteoric rise could actually be a blessing in disguise for Wang Shixian and good fallback plan considering Wang Shixian's performance is not going to add value to China's medal hopes on statistical basis. Should she not appear and Wang Shixian went to London instead, I dont think she will end up as a medallist with that mediocre skill level. She should be thankful that Li Xuerui stepped into the picture and started shedding light onto Wang Shixian's deficiency so hopefully she could realise it's time to start improving to prepare for the worst in the Olympic situation. For now, Li Xuerui should go because at least Li Xuerui has more shots to demonstrate to actually scare her opponents off. Wang Shixian literally has nothing apart from her signature crosscourt slice which only has one direction and placement..
If intransigence was what WSX were practising, she would have been off the entry list of most tournaments a long time ago. No, it is something much more fundamental and on a physical plane. The CBA support team and analysts have goofed up on this one big-time. They've been caught napping.
WSX, who once mesmerized me and then caused me a lot of pain , must learn how to attack better and,for goodness' sake, smash. She herself admitted she cannot play like her coach Zhang Ning who has urged her to attack more and that they both don't understand each other ! - it's surprising they,including LYB, let her be for so long,goes to show they aren't that bossy or authoritarian as most would have thought about them(LYB yes but not ZN). I'm afraid if she continues like this,she would be sidelined by more and more of her compatriots and new hopefuls - I learnt from one BCer,RedShuttle, to take note of Sun Yu and Xia Jingyun.
I'm waiting,will continue to wait and hope to see one day WSX's big transformation. Such a consummate deceptive stroke player,what a shame to let it go to waste. Still only 22 and a China player,with all the talents and resources in China,if she cannot do it,I wonder who in the rest of the world can facing a similar situation. She has to seize the opportunity fast,brooks no delay,every few months one or other hopeful emerges in China.
I heard on another thread that she was scolded backstage by her coach, and broke into tears. Oh boy, this will stress her out! I just don't understand why they didn't take her off from the circuit around a year ago, for maybe 3-4 months to remodel her game. Maybe they felt they needed a grinder like her as a foil to the other more attacking players, to add more variety to the makeup of the team. But it appears to have backfired spectacularly, as most opponents have figured out her one-dimensional game. She's still up there with the best, though. And she's young enough to lead China at the next (2016) OG. The staff should take her off and get to work on her. She can still be a killer weapon, with her accuracy and all.
Problem is China has new big guns every couple of years, especially in the WS. She really can't be sure to be in the top 4 in 4 years time.
The pressure and competition in CHN,esp WS, is simply crazy. Almost every year a new player emerges to challenge the existing ones who mostly haven't even established themselves comfortably yet. The slightest "mistake", the slackening of form a tad too long, even for injury which is nobody's fault, and you're struggling to stay alive in the national team. You need more than just skills but also a strong and brave heart to last long in CHN. Poor Shixian is just 23 yrs old (?) and we are talking as if it's all over for her. I believe not, her stroke, defensive, deceptive play is special, even unique, and worth learning from - and she just have to work on what's glaringly missing in her arsenal which is for her to acquire and when she does,she will shake the badminton world again.
