Didn't know about that, but I suppose it should be. With ballooning being so prevalent, they're even doing it down there, lol
Day 3 recap.. ..back to Day 2, Eva Lee and Paula O. won their match due to Wang Rong being injured in the 3rd game.. ..quick recap of Day 3.. 1. Match of the day was definitely the XD match between Reiko S. & Shintaro I. vs. CHN's Liu XL & Cheng S. It was a tight game throughout, but the more experienced pair won and held their own toward the end of the match. After the last point, the jubilant Reiko jumped into Shintaro's embrace as they absorbed all of the fans applause. Of course, the fans definitely wanted the JPN's pair to win so they can see Reiko compete at least another day... 2. Another defending champs fell, as CHN TPE's MD pair of Fang CM & Lee SM, who won last yr's MD title, continue to struggle this yr as they lost in straight games to a much lankier Australian pair. 3. Singles match of the day was definitely the match between Ai Goto vs. Tai TY. Very entertaining indeed. Near the end of the 3rd game, after each gal traded grunts for grunts, it was Tai TY who emerged victorious. She will try her luck this yr and try to do one round better after last yr's loss in the QF Rd~wish her luck, limsy.. 4. Eriko's match vs. the HK gal was entertaining as well. Eriko just showed her level toward the end of the 1st game. 5. MS match between the Almost-Incredible Hurk (Henri Hurskainen) was close in the 1st game. Henri showed some true grit with his defense in the 1st game and almost pulled one out. Unfortunately, his rushed net shot sealed the victory for Hsieh HY. 6. The U.S. MD pairing of Tony & Howard survived another day..rallying in the 1st game to win a close one.. 7. Boonsak Ponsana survived a tough fight against a JPN youngster in Takuma Ueda, who showed a lot of potential.. 8. Marc Zwiebler continues to improve in his performance..although he told me he was somewhat lucky in his win over IND's RMV Gurusaidatt 9. The 2 THA's young WS players continue with their stable performance as well.. ..that's all from my very burnt out memory...
It's a little disappointing that Misaki and Ayaka didn't manage to beat this Korean pair once again, though I can't fault them for not trying. Ignoring the first set, the second showed that they can really push the Koreans to the edge. Compared with their previous meeting two and a half months ago, where they lost 21-17 21-14 in the India Open, I feel that this result is an improvement. It's just a pity that they have gone out so early in their last big tournament before the long hiatus. I do believe that it's good for Misaki to be prowling near the net, since she tends to rather aggressive there. Also, Ayaka has got substantial power. I feel that any drop in form recently is probably only temporary, since they have taken out some rather strong opponents, including the Chinese twins Luo Ying/Luo Yu, who will be the Koreans' next opponents. The prospects of them playing in London is however more bleak, since time is running out for them to climb up the rankings, and Mizuki/Reika and Shizuka/Mami are playing like madmen (or madwomen). But these two pairs, being the more senior and hence more experienced, should be expected to be the frontrunners. Well, there is always 2016 in sunny Rio de Janeiro. What is more worrisome is the need for them to stay in the national team, and with it, exposure to strong opponents. Given the swarm of talented up and coming youngsters eager to take their place, this may pose a problem. It is not unexpected for Park Joo Bong, being a Korean, to be a tough task master. But I'm really glad that he is coaching the pair. And with Zhang Yawen in Unisys to train with them, I believe that they can go far. Oh, by the way, Misaki and Ayaka are not a new pairing. They have been together since junior high school. I think
Let's see how invincible she is against "the Special One" (Rat); match starting right about now. Can't find live streaming anywhere unfortunately
I too like "the Special One" more because she's quite funny, but my head tells me that she can't beat "the Invincible One", lol
Wow, Special One 23-21 Invincible One. Titanic struggle. Looks like the names were well coined. Let's hope she has enough gas to finish the job