Mental edge has nothing to do with LCW losing. LCW's confidence and play didn't drop. Wrong strategy is the reason. LD changes his style of play during the final few point. This causes LCW who is already under tremendous pressure to make mistakes or play the wrong reply. Chen Long will soon learn to do this as well.. It is during these crucial moments that you need a good coach at the side to remind you about the right play.. LCW didn't have that.
LD's coach didn't say nothing at the end of the play. In fact, they didn't remind LD about the right play at the side for the whole match. All they said was just mental control things. For their level, there is not much right or wrong strategy as they know each other and badminton so well. It's all about meantal battle.
Indeed it is a mental battle... a battle of strategies.. executing the right shot at the right time. Strategy is "everything!". Towards the end of the 3 set battle, your mind would start to be a little hazy. Your opponent's probably suffering the same way. If you watched the match closely, you would have seen LYB shouting instructions... then you see Lin Dan playing differently. A lot of talk from a lot of people about mental game, but few really understand what it's all about. LCW fought bravely till the end, just didn't execute the right shots towards the end.
In their epic battles,the more famous ones where Lin Dan prevailed,they were either a clear win for Lin Dan who displayed awesome form(eg Beijing 2008 and Asian Game 2010) or close down-to-the-wire encounters (say WC2010 and this LOG'12). In the latter case, IMHO,I noticed that at the crucial moments Lin Dan was still able to stay focused and dared to attack whereas Lee CW tended to play safe,bided his time and waited for his opponent to make mistakes unless there was a clear opening for him to initiate the attack which seldom happened. In other words, if I may say so, Lin Dan dared to win during those critical points whilst LCW much less so; I somehow felt the latter's body language exhibited lack of confidence,self-consciousness and hesitancy as if he was almost there but simply didn't have the killer instinct to finish it off. In that sense,yes,Lin Dan's superior mental strength gave him the edge when the game/match was tight. Just my 2-cents.
When the pressure builds up so high at the crucial moment.. the 'Hero Complex' takes the risk while the 'hard worker complex' will naturally play it safe and lack initiative to attack. Fortune often favours the bold
It comes with the teritory... for being world #1 (for 4 years) but having a 20-80 record against LD. DLCW n LD are like Hector n Achilles... without DLCW, Lin Dan's star would not shine as bright and he'd just be another Rudy Hartono...
As we see, LD is no longer eager for world #1 for long, only interested in big titles, therefore his "Hero / Champion Complex" is always stronger. People alway like to blame other reasons (national system, coach, teammates, etc) for CW's failure to beat LD in big occasions, yet face the reality, LD is more superior by his own in mentality and smartness on court. He's the real champion. ...Perhaps CW could win 1 or 2 WCs in the couple of years to come when LD is not interested in winning more big titles too (after QG12).....
My personal take on this is that LD's pace-upping ability comes from his natural overhead hitting technique/deception which allows for him to control the rallies and tire his opponents more by making them late onto the shuttle. Meanwhile, LCW doesn't have that technique, but instead, controls rallies with his speed of movement. His best shots are when he rushes his opponent through his speed, allowing him to deceive them with slices and crosscourts.
In a simple sentence (from Rocky) - Lin Dan has got the "eye of the tiger" .... LCW may be wearing all the tiger stripes and colours, but he is a pussycat when he meets the REAL BEAST !!!
:O Lin Dan always looks fierce and even when he loses to LCW he looks fierce. LCW always looks unsure even when he wins; it's all mental!!!! LCW knows how to beat LD, but LD knows how to win.
I think because Lin Dan is left handed and because he's chinese(I'm not racist) 1)Left-handed players pack a stronger punch because the heart is nearer in the left side of your body. The left ventricle of the heart pumps blood all throughout the body. 2)Chinese athletes TRAIN REALLY REALLY GOOD.
the left handed player bit is quite interesting, and if you can find some article that could support it, i would love to know about it maybe because team china emphasize more on not failing the country than personal gain? i do believe that LD's mental game is a a bit stronger and his desire to win is huge, you can sorta feeling while watching the game (and i'm only watching the games via internet), and i can't imagine watching them both live, must be amazing
my take - LD is left hander - LD has better court sense, he sort of know where the birdie will land reminds me of Roger Federer who floats around the court (unlike Nadal) - because LD court sense, he uses less energy and tires his opponent more - LD is a big game player, copes very well with the stress and pressure of 2 billion ppl.
Inferior isn't the right to use for this thread. It sound like lcw is a fake, he has been training hard and no matter how hard he tries to win important matches against ld, he failed. Simply, ld is too good for him .. on such matches. But he does provide us the thrills and excitement whenever we watch him play ld, isn't that great? As for the leftie nature of ld, I don't think there is any scientific evidence it's an advantage for badminton. Otherwise, china with her abundance of talents, would have given more priorites for lefties in their national squad today! It's simply ld himself with his mind
The Lefties or South paws aren't proven to be at an advantage over the Righties/right-handed people, otherwise it would be exhibited across all sports that use hands to play, including basketball,volleyball,squash,table-tennis,etc. I think it's pure coincidence that in badminton, both Lin Dan and Zhao Jianhua are lefties. About the term inferior, I don't feel it's derogatory,not at this moment. It isn't like calling a low-IQ person stupid or retarded, so have to come up with terms like intellectually challenged. But language is a living thing,perhaps one day it might start to assume negative connotations; on the other hand ,life would be unnecessarily hard if every negative term has to be rephrased to sound at least neutral if not less offensive. Generally, most if not all linguists and lexicographers nowadays are descriptivists than prescriptivists but until they start labelling a word as disparaging,offensive,,obscene or vulgar,let's not be too sensitive about its usage for the time being. Nevertheless,how about : Why is LCW great but not as great as Lin Dan? or simply: Why is LCW not as great as Lin Dan? (Notice a slight change of emphasis as compared with the original thread title). Presumably,the above would sound better than ,say: Why is LCW a lesser player than Lin Dan? or Why is LCW not as good as Lin Dan?, for example. Pardon me if I seem pedantic.
I still call a retard a retard because a retard would not know that he/she is a retard because he/she is retarded to begin with!! Forget politically correct, living in USA I'm tired of people being so sensitive and cry about every little thing, and now shark fin soup is illegal, THAT is retarded!!!I'm sorry about my ranting, but it's something that's annoying me everyday living in Amercia!!!
Think the edge is all mental game. LD can draw on past successes against LCW in big games to give himself a positive mindset. That's a huge advantage to have psychologically when one side has everything positive to draw on, while the other side almost have nothing to fall back on. It's one thing to THINK you can beat someone; it's another to KNOW.
Like I said ... "eye of the tiger" ... LD knows he can EAT LCW for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper IF he is in the "mood" .... and SADLY, LCW also KNOWS THAT !!
IMO, the mental part stems from something that is inborn and unchangeable: character and personality. LD may come across as arrogant sometimes, but he is confident, self assured, and well... slightly arrogant. And we can see the difference even in something simple as a post game interview. He has the coolness to handle any question thrown his way, while LCW answers almost apologetically. Another simple manner in which we can see this character difference is in the way they carry their posture. LD head up, chest forward. While LCW face down, shoulders drooped.
mental game could be taught, then practiced, then mastered. It's just like any strokes / footwork technique; the question lies in whether the player is willing to practice it or not. Neither Ayrton Senna, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer or Lin Dan was born with the instincts of a champion.