Given the situation he was in, don't you think he would have embraced it by being a little more attentive to his behaviour? Instead, he fell apart and started acting like an inexperienced schoolboy. He is a senior member of the CHN team and was given the leadership role in this partnership with Ma Jin. Yes I expect him to at least make it comfortable for his partner so that she can play without having to worry about making mistakes (which was further compounded due to ZJ's surliness). A little "let's go" or an encouraging tap here there could have gone a long way to changing the complexion of the match. Unfortunately he was found wanting this time round. It may be a little early to throw him under the bus but his history with numerous partners raises a red flag. Perhaps he needs to assume the junior role in a partnership to be most effective.
That's "God" standard? Com'on! That's "normal" standard for every mature man (definition: man who concentrates on his goals, not his ego). Did PJB do anything like this in 1996 OG Final when RKM kept making mistakes? Their opponent, KDM, was a "relatively no-name player" at that time; Did Trikush do anything like this in 2000 OG Final when Minarty was almost a burden instead of a helper? Their opponent ZJ/GL were "relatively no-name" at that time... Such a list of "gods" can go longer and longer. These are OG gold medal matches, much much more important than AE semifinal. Don't forget the "relatively no-name" Korean pair beat the Thai No. 1 and European No.1 very convincingly before meeting ZB/MJ. Furthermore, as MJ is also "relatively no-name", why should ZB assume that they should win easily in the first place? Finally, ZB didn't do that well either. If he was clearly superior to the Korean boy then his frustration may have some ground, but that's not the case. ZB's "as long as your shots are not perfect, it's always your fault" attitude is not only irresponsible, but also unwise (The Korean pair didn't do well after the mid-game break in the 3rd game, if ZB concentrated on the match instead of his temper, there was big chance that they could catch up or even won).
Ok, OK, my name is LB, not LYB or ZB... People please remember that even though ZB is a veteran, but he's only 20's, and with CHN team's structure (kids got into sports school at age of 3 to 5), it's very understandable why some of them can be childish in a way or two, even after they become famous. Of course, i am not here to say ZB's action is right, just as I stated in my 1st post. And please, ZB is no where near PJB or KDM, and I am sure he will never be a hall of fame as the one we listed above. Therefore, compare to the legend (god), ZB is a very immature kid. It's very easy for us to say here and there, when all we need to do is to drink beer, jump up and down in front of TV, and do not have to worry about our career. ZB is fighting for his life, his job, his career, and I am sure a final appearance in AE (regardless he won that before or not) does not come very often for anyone. He was clearly upset. Again, I am not saying ZB did everything right. All I am saying is, after all the flames, we should give ZB a break. Yes, he hurts MJ's feeling. However, put any of us (not a list of all time greats) into ZB's shoes at the moment, any of us can do a much better job??? I have to admit I might not be any better, either.
This week SO, MJ still has to pair with ZB. I don't think so this pair could go so far in SO MJ started to fear of ZB
I hope you are wrong. There is still LYB that can assure her that the little kitten named ZB is now tamed. MJ style require a strong smasher to back her. FHF is a good choice.
I agree!! Her net shots weren't tight enough, she wasn't pouncing at those loose net returns but instead putting a lot of shots into the net. There was at least 2 occasions she moved away from her position prematurely leaving a gaping hole that the Koreans converted. . Essentially, she wasn't doing her job well from the very beginning. I do not think the Koreans feel threatened at the net at all. How did she make CHN national? On-topic: ZB should still be reprimanded for his behaviour but MJ is not totally blame-free.
Well........there was another player, MD dept, who was reprimanded in public by his coach & in this forum cos he scolded his MD partner/showed angry looks. Worse things were said abt this player. Therefore, dont expect the members let ZB off the hook. You have said put ourselves in ZB's shoes, there are those who would not do such a thing in public, even provoked. So, for them such behaviour is unacceptable cos they themselves would not do it.
Since 99.9999% of us may never be in his situation (AE SF stage), I won't call it's fair to say "none of us will do it", just because we can never even qualified to be in the situation. Let me put this way. If losing $10, most of us can be real calm, joke a bit, and that's just another day. If losing $10 billion in stock market, we might wonder why the mult. billionaires wants to jump out of the building. Many of us might say, "man, not worth it, I won't do it..." Simply because we will never get a chance to be in the situation to begin with.
I won't use "was trained" as an excuses to say we can do whatever to punished a player. Great athletes like MJ or Kobe can be ejected due to harsh foul or even shoving mataches. Gentleman like Wayne Gretzkey can drop his gloves and get into a fight in hockey ring. Future baseball hall of fames can jump into a pile, and start a bloody brawl during an intensive match. "Golden boy" M. Phleps can dope... You tell me the above greats and hall of fames never got educated about "not to fight, not to dope, not to hurt others"??? Compare to them, ZB at least did not smash the racket on MJ's head (sorry, bad joke). So, if we still select the greats into hall of fame, even though they been ejected from a game, been suspended, been fined, or even trialed in courts, then why ZB can not get a break, simply because he was "trained"...
noted. I think MJ knows that and weeped after the match, not because of ZB scolding. However, as a jr and first time in a big event like the AE, it is understandable. It revealed the 'tender' side of the china team, and china team willingness to field or risk younger players to the battelfield as well.
You must be joking! China never takes risks - neither in sport nor in anything else. If a player were assessed to have even a slightly better winning probability, China would necessarily field that player. Those who take risks and end up losing get severely punished. And, mark this, such bullishness is not restricted to sport
well, we have to see about this later on. MJ definitely not at par with Yawen or Ting Ting when they were rookies. Yes, my comment did infer china almost never takes risk but after watching MJ's performance, it makes me wonder if the china's double coach took risk this time or made a blunder of fielding a somewhat green MJ to the battlefield. I think china knows 2012 is coming, and there's no better time to screen out young talents than now, right after 08 Olympic. You also have to open to the idea that LYB's is also fielding out new coaches too and would let them have more freedom on team preparation since this is a low risk period, a whole 3.5 years before 2012 OG.
What beats me is why Du Jing wasn't roped in to partner Zheng Bo. In every aspect, she would surely run circles around Ma Jin
