No doubt about it, we have many XD pairs right now.....4 of them are in the top 10 and 6 in the top 15! Add Praveen Jordan/Vita Marissa and Lukhi Apri Nugroho/Annisa Saufika (both will be in the top 50 by next week). Not to mention the newer pairs like Edi Subaktiar/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja and Alfian Eko Prasetya/Sri Wulan Sari. Still though, each of these pair, including the World No 2 Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir, has their own problems: 1. Towi/Butet - mental problem still affecting them, especially when under huge pressure. Just look at the results in the Axiata Cup SF! Now, they even begin to lose to Sudket/Saralee frequently, which is not a good sign! I still think they still have yet reached the level of Nova/Butet (2 World Championships are better than 2 AEs and superior records against most of their Chinese opponents at that time) 2. Rijal/Debby - a dependable 2nd pair? Hard to say....they also have yet to rise to the level of Flandy/Vita yet....a pair that has consistently proven that they can win SS and GPG titles regularly! 3. Kido/Pia - I actually rate them as slightly better than Rijal/Debby but still vulnerable to losses to new pairs (like in Australia Open). Their target should be to reach top 5! 4. Fran/Shendy - see 2. 5. Riky/Richi - Riky's injury has stalled this pair's progress early this year, especially with the many first-round losses they had. I heard they will temporarily be split....let's see how they fare with the new partner first. 6. Irfan/Weni - an excellent first GPG title for Irfan/Weni at the Australia Open but they will also temporarily be split. 7. Lukhi/Annisa - good progress at IC/GPG level tourneys so far, including winning the Osaka IC 2013. They can possibly reach the top 25 by end of this year. 8. Jordan/Vita - good first title also at the New Zealand Open GP. This is probably a temporary pairing but Jordan really is talented!
no one talk about Jordan in NZ Open thread.... soon, we will heard his name in top 10... both in MD and XD I propose Selvanus/Jordan or Agrippina/Jordan for MD and Tiara/Jordan or Weni/Jordan for XD
Indonesia very strong in mixed doubles! Really surprised China and Korean in recent Australian GPG and New Zealand GP They all have talent and potential to prosper and threaten the Chinese and Danish who are the current best at mixed doubles
Wow... riky and ricie will be temporary splited? i wonder who will be their partners... karanda/ riccie is a good choice.. they grab gold in xd at pon last year
[video=youtube;0O6WaBpRNlA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O6WaBpRNlA[/video] omg, this is a really good match... you all should watch this match.... Riky demonstrated such a great defensive play with many trick shots like sigit while defending.... Riky/Richie is great. if they keep consistent, they will be in Top 10 soon
With these number of XD pairs - INA should really be dominating, if not now, then soon. Now let's see .... from an, ahem, almost neutral standpoint. 1. Towi/Butet - problem is psychological - what I couldn't understand is, that it should only be affecting Towi if at all. Liliyana Natsir as a former Double World Champ and Olympic Medallist (not to mention the recent back to back All England titles -the best of the Super Series and below titles, BTW), should do more as a stabilizing factor in the pair. If she has to scold her partner in public, then so be it. 2. Rijal/Debby - I saw Debby in action against CPS/GLY in the Axiata Cup - for the first game at least she was superior but she needs a complementing partner at peak performance to shine. Rijal blew hot and cold in that match. At his age, does he still need guidance? In short, one of these two must be captain, but so far both refuse to take charge. 3. Kido/Pia - As far as racquet skills and mentality are involved, they are right up there on top. But hey, you want to win majors? Get fitter and faster ....... 4. Fran/Shendy - Now starting to see them playing in a proper system to winning matches, using both players' whacking strength as the main arsenal. Decent defence (except towards Shendy's body), but outright pace and lightning interceptions are a bit lacking at the frontcourt - which causes their downfall when the opposition get the upperhand. 5. Riky/Richi - Haven't really seen them in action .... so no comment so far. 6. Irfan/Weni - Weni has the makings of a decent XD frontcourt player, with very good deft touches and change of angles. The guy Irfan Fadhilah needs to temper his enthusiasm a bit, otherwise he could fire a winning shot a foot wide. But this pair has probably among the better fighting spirit among their teammates. Important not to let your heads drop - and this was what made them champs in Australia. 7. Lukhi/Annisa - sorry - haven't seen them in action too, so judgement is reserved. 8. Jordan/Vita - a very mobile and energetic player, is young Jordan. Had a picture of him executing the one metre baseline jumper (ala Cheah Soon Kit in 1988) in the Malaysian Super Series. With Vita on board, they can be deadly. But too bad Vita's age is catching up, otherwise they could really be an excellent long term partnership.
thx for the review, abedeng... you can watch Riky/Richi's action in this video below.. [video=youtube;0O6WaBpRNlA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0O6WaBpRNlA[/video]
I've seen Gloria - good looking photogenic girl ...... very important for the, err, badminton world tour.
here's video of Annisa Saufika. [video=youtube;Db-LOyWIyLA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db-LOyWIyLA[/video]
INA junior XD has done really well in 2011 and 2012 WJC.. All INA final for 2 consecutive years. and also the 2011 AJC Xd winner Lukhi/Ririn. 2011 WJC: Alfian/Gloria vs Ronald/Tiara 2012 WJC : Edi/Melati vs Alfian/Shella As all of them are now in pelatnas(some do not play in XD though like Tiara, Ronald and Shella). Its all in Richard's hand to polish these players into a top tier players.
I heard Ronald Alexander and Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah could be playing XD as the coaches are planning to reshuffle some of the pairs in MD and WD.
Well, there are some new pratama pairs for Walikota Cup (4-9 May, Surabaya) in XD: Ronald/Maretha, Hafiz/Shella, Wahyu Nayaka/Melvira, Hardianto/Melati, Kevin Sanjaya/Rosyita
Kevin/Rosyita are being prepared for AJC & WJC. We pretty much don't have any pair except this one and perhaps Rian Swastedian/Masita Mahmudin?
