How far will BCL go this yr??.. ..will he finally shed his "Mr. Runner-Up" status this yr??...IMO: - LCW and LD and maybe Chen Jin will be BCL's obstacles to any major titles this yr..Gade and Taufik being his outside spoilers.. - BCL didn't have to face LD or LCW in this yr's S'pore Open. And both LD & LCW didn't attend the earlier German Open and BAC. - His road to a World Championships MS crown hinges on how far he has to go before meeting either LD or LCW. If he were to meet LD in the Final, my bet is still on LinDan winning it, again, for the 3rd time in a row. Thus, BCL will probably stay to his status as "Mr. Runner-Up"..
Well, if he had met LCW at this SO, BCL's chances must be higher as he completely shattered LCW's conqueror, NTM in the QF. He has also beaten CJ here most emphatically. So compatriot LD is the one who stands in his way. Maybe new coach and World Champ 2003, Xia Xuanze, had other ideas if he is not coaching LD as well. But BCL is on the rise and I will not discount his chances to become World Champ! BCL jia yu!
^^Off topic-LCW was really off in the S'pore Open..^^ ..IMO, Nguyen Tien Minh caught LCW on LCW's bad week (considering also, there were so many unexpected upsets in this yr's S'pore Open)..We'll see if NTM can repeat his victory against LCW, the next time they meet..
That's the whole idea - to catch a WR1 napping! LD might be the next victim! But LCW has learnt his lesson and will hopefully be better-prepared for the WC. Can't say much about TH as he was forced to vanish from the SO scene by his sponsor Yonex. The rest of the Indonesian singles players did not make much impact here. But Yonex will display its finest equipment in Hyderabad and Li Ning will only be represented by its China players in the main. BTW the Singapore Team is now sponsored by Li Ning. As for the ageing PG, who lost to India's Anup Sridhar in R2, his days are numbered. I think his compatriot Jan Jorgensen, who gave CJ a fright during the QF (15-21, 21-17, 21-18 over an hour) has more potential. And PSH lost to Boonsak in the SF. So the more you think about it, BCL has more than an outside chance.
^^Yes..^^ ..i'll just give BCL that, an "outside chance".. Btw, i don't know when was the last time BCL won against either LinDan or LCW?? and his head-to-head record against both LD & LCW??..anyone keeping stats knows??..
Agree.. never seen such an offensive BCL. Boonsak simply ran out of steam by 10-6 in the decider. I think the 1st call was bad (should be in) but it's possible for the 2nd disputed call to have gone out from my angle (BCL's side). It's hard to tell if the 3rd disputed call actually hit Boonsak so I'll give the umpire the benefit. 3 shady line calls and 1 net fault and BCL came back to win it -- really admirable. I still support Boonsak but BCL is simply an entire level higher.
Sony wasn't doing too badly until he lost his cool. Simon's outing was total disaster by any measure going down to Boonsak like he did. The Indonesian's weren't the only ones having it bad. Korea and Malaysia did very badly too. At least Indonesia had MD and WD in the finals but to paraphrase Punchclear, MK/HS never came to Singapore. Back on topic, it's weird how BCL went so far down the list....
he seems more motivated, more motivated and wants it more than ever. He's making things happen as oppose to letting come to him now..( being more aggressive) Maybe his Knee injury had an effect on him?? But glad to see him winning again and many more to come!
Good to see Bao win a SS, I think his ranking dropped because he couldn't defend alot of his points due to injury etc... But hopefully he'll shed his mr "runnerup" image I still think he belongs in the top 5 of men's single player and if given a chance, have a reasonable chance of beating the other top players in the world...
We shall just wait and see... And keep on supporting him in more ways than one! ...Though I am a bit disappointed of his resignation from this year's Indonesia Open Super Series. It would've been a great opportunity to watch him play live (or even see him play at all, since in my country we only broadcast our own athletes playing), but alas, the circumstances says otherwise; his knee injury is not fully healed yet. But he sure is still a player to watch. Jia you, Bao!
I think he will be back by then!and there is no more super series event till the WC is over haha! So its gd tat he went for his operation now haha!