Watching CL play is frustrating because I know he can be just as quick as LCW but it did seemed that he reserved energy but wearing LCW out and made him run diagonal. Lot. Tho the match was semi boring it was what's needed to win, and that's all it matters! Congrats to CL!
The match was well planned and clinical. Yes, no flair or immense speed like lin Dan and Lee chong wei of yesteryears. However we will have to understand that cl is a big dude. He won't be able to carry himself for long if he do that. And those few jaw dropping net exchanges more than make up for it.
Chen Long is such an extremely stable player. Or at least when he is playing LCW. No wonder that Li Yu, now coach, who won a match in CNG said to his students to watch Chen Long. The way he gets back to the center, and his defensive shots, the ones he makes when he is pushed to the backcourt are so very good.
His total demolish of LCW on KOR SS Final is the end of LCW's era. LCW is going through what Roger Federer has gone through, and the world now awaits the showdown of LD and CL
I really thought Chen long's net play vs LCW was some of the very best I have ever seen any player produce. I would go as far as to say this particular match that the net exchanges were even better than what LD and LCW produce in their matches. The margins were so tight neither simply lifted when the other played a tight net shot. CL really pounced on any shot less than perfect by LCW but even the exchanges were so close and exciting! I remember one in which everything happened in a single exchange. CL attempted a net kill off a shuttle tumbling right on the net which LCW deflected the kill at point blank range, followed by an awkward forehand crosscourt net shot from left to right and landed on the line on the opposite side of the court well out of LCW's reach. Simply breathtaking net battle there that I haven't even seen LD produce
Precisely, the net play was superb on both sides. Chen Long really surprised me that his net shots and anticipation of LCW's are so good, so tight as to skim the top of the tape by millimeters, occasionally tipping over it. No wonder Lee CW appeared nonplussed when not only his killer smashes but deft and delicate touches at the net were so often wondrously countered by Chen Long. That amazing net exchange you described, particularly the last return shot from Chen Long's awkward forehand cross court which luckily still landed in on the sideline can only be described as pure reflex action, accidental,done out of desperation, therefore not replicable by anyone, not even Chen Long himself.
That net exchange was so ridiculous that Gillian Clark screamed after LCW blocked the net kill and she thought it was over and didn't even respond to CL's cross-court reflex shot haha
i sorta get what Kwun was talking about, how Clark might be biased against Chinese players, but still not quite completely convinced anyway, what you guys said was right, it was a very stable game, and basically CL "hogged" the whole court and it looked like he didn't let any shuttle fly by him. rear court retrieval was amazing. you guys were right about the net game as well! i didn't realized how good it was until you guys mentioned it then i thought it thru again in my head and then it hit me that they were some of the best net kills
So many instances I just laugh at Gillian's despair cos Chinese players are succeeding in front of her teary eyes. Just like in the london olympics final where she became virtually mute near the end of the 3rd set before LD takes it. Plus the many other times of her usual blah blah lcw promotes the sport, hes the real true champion, LCW so amazing etc etc
Gillian Clark must be living in a very sad sad world of herself, obsessed with the success of LCW over any other Chinese players, be him LD or for now CL, which is by now a rarity. With LCW going thru' what Peter Gade went thru' a few years before his official retirement at Dec 12, Gillian Clark will be even a sadder person seeing there is no one in sight that will win the majority of honours ahead of the current and emerging flocks of talented Chinese players. A very long and sad year ahead for Mdm Gillian Clark looms in 2014.
It was kind of apparent that GC really wanted LCW to win, escpecially during the first set. But by the end of the 2nd set I think she actually started to praise CL as well, calling him/his shots "Magnificent" and "Extraordinary".
Well, what is unique from CL is that he can play very good against LCW but lost to other MS players. Let's wait and see if he can change this 'habit'.
In Canada, we have the greatest ice hocky player that ever played this game called Wayne Gretzky, universally called the 'Great One'. Aside from scoring and winning everything and owning 61 records (some records may never be broken), his biggest gift is his ability to motivate and make his fellow players into great hall-of-fame players, after all ice hockey is team spot and 1 player does not win a series or championship. LCW is similar to Wayne, the difference is LCW manage to motivate/make CL, DPU and even LD into formidable opponents when they play LCW, but not his fellow teammates who has trouble even escaping Round 1
LCW would make a great coach when he retires. Not to coach MAS team, he may not even get the players out of qualifying stage if he coaches them, oh dear LYB should forget about the Thing and Xie coaching show, LYB should hire LCW to coach the CHN MS team, LCW has the single greatest gift to motivate and bring out the best out of the CHN MS players as they want to and like to beat the heck out of him every time.
Woah that was a really good game between him and LCW. He's just not afraid of LCW. What is the new racket he is using, if anyone happens to know? Is it the standard n80? Thanks!
i think as with a lot of other people including myself, she simply wanted to have a badminton circuit with a more even distribution of good players from all countries. i don't blame her, she loves the sport and only wants the sport to grow internationally. plus, discounting gillian clark herself...i doubt anyone would be a worthy replacement as a badminton commentator....at least i haven't heard anyone as good as her. she really gives good insight on the game itself and sometimes tell us stuff we do not know about the players themselves.
I agree that it gets a bit boring and is in some ways damaging to the sport when China wins everything. It's a bit like Redbull dominating the last 4 years of F1 or Man U winning everything in football (until now). It's great to see other nations pick up wins as well and keep China on their toes.
I don't want to go off topic in the CL thread but I absolutely agree with this. Compare Clark to say one of the many soccer/ tennis commentators out there, she's miles ahead in terms of knowledge and passion about the game. Usually I get frustrated by the inept comments made in other sports, but never from GC. Yes, she's guilty of being pro-european players but can you really blame her for that? Maybe it's irritating for Chinese fans who watch. As KZ points out I don't think anyone would be a worthy replacement for GC right now and I hope to hear her for a few more years yet.
agree that other nations must work hard to pick up wins to make the sports more interesting... but not by non-sports means to limit China or any other dominating players... it is also boring to see LCW wins all super series and no other players able to challenge him except CL... but i will not suggest to limit LCW from doing so by non-sports means...
