. If we go back to Post #1, coach Sung Han-kuk said that they have concluded that Lee Yong-dae and Ha Jung-eun will be the optimal mixed doubles team for the 2012 London Games. As for me, I still believe in them to perform well (like their coach expects). .
Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun have made it to Ranked No.12 (as at 05-Jan-2012) . Coach Sung Han-kuk must be very happy that Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun have made it into the Semi-Finals of the 2012 Korea Open SSP. Here are their results; http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=3677C337-B11D-4E8A-B0D9-F7181D73A7EF&draw=10 Slowly but surely, Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun have made it to Ranked No.12 (as at 05-Jan-2012); http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/ranking/category.aspx?id=2909&category=476 Perhaps next week, Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun could be ranked in the Top 10 (and be ready for the 2012 Olympic Games). Let's wait and see. .
Depending on their performance from here on, they'll probably move up 1-3 places as all other pairs (#4-11) are out of the tournament. With a win in the semis, they could very well be #9 next week. Should be possible against the Russians, but not easy.....very interesting
. Perhaps winning the 2012 Korea Open SSP XD title, they could be in the TOP 8 ranking for the 2012 Olympic Games. .
Doesn't really matter, does it? They're the top ranked pair from their country and easily within the top 16, so the only thing the ranking will change is seeding....and they still have a lot of time left to collect some more points...although winning would be very nice indeed for them
If they win their semi-final (which I really do hope) it will be very hard to either play the Danes or Xu Chen / Ma Jin. Ha Jung Eun is too weak compared to Ma Jin and Pedersen.... she's often way too nervous. Anyways let's see
Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun have made it into 2012 Korea Open SSP Finals . And sure enough, Ha Jung Eun played better than we expected. Lee Yong Dae is always playing well (his usual self). Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun defeated Alexandr Nikolaenko/Valeri Sorokina (RUS) 21-18, 21-15 in 39 minutes at the Semi-Finals. For the results, here is the link; http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=3677C337-B11D-4E8A-B0D9-F7181D73A7EF&draw=10 I think Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun can take out the title in their homeground tournament. Another day to wait and see. .
Although he lose in both finals, having played 6 tough sets in a day is absolutely amazing... salute to this guy. same goes to Ha Jung Eun.. played 2 match.. must be very tired..
Ha Jun Eun was very tired at the XD final today... but LYD was still full of energy still even at the end....
Think they were both tiring towards the 2nd half of the 3rd game. When they get into position to get ready to receive serve from the Chinese, LYD was taking a lot of time an just seemed not able to keep up the intensity. Don't blame either of them though, they had tough games in their respective men's and women's doubles earlier on in the day. My opinion is that HJE really needs to train more to be more aggressive at the front court area. At the moment, she can't compete with Ma Jin or Zhao Yunlei. Her awareness and ability to intercept does not quite compare with Ma Jin. Ma Jin also has superb defensive skills, even better than Xu Chen. HJE also still has improvements to make in her defensive play. I really love watching Ma Jin play, but I think HJE has the potential to challenge Ma Jin given time. LYD/HJE is quite comparable to Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei. Both combinations are very evenly balanced, have fantastic athletes who rely on placement, tactics and precision.
I would like to see JJS coming in to tell HJE how to do certain shots when at the net . Yes, I am sure HJE and her coaches are working to improve HJE's front-court play. I would like to see JJS coming in to tell HJE how to do certain shots when at/near the net. .
Allowing LYD to play at his best/maximum ability . No, that's not what I meant. What I am saying is for JJS to tell HJE how to play with LYD as a partner, allowing LYD to play at his best/maximum ability. .
yeah, JJS able to maximize the potential LYD has. JJS is also able to cover up front net battle, if LYD pushed way back..That is one of the reason why they are world No. 2 MD.
I think LYD would be the better person to show her how to play at the net....after all, he's better at setting up his partner in the back in MD than JJS is I really hope HJE can improve in the net area, she lost the battle for attack too often against Ma Jin, enabling Xu Chen to smash too much. Even if she can't win the attack, she needs to use more flat pushes against a player like him (good smash, no real other skills in international pro terms).
imo, this hje is quite good for her young age... her defence is impenetrable, her counter attack is great, her smash is powerful, only thing iffy is her serve sometimes... she'll only improve from here however, i have reservations with both her and lyd competing in 2 events each. her in xd and wd, while lyd in xd and md. cmiiw, but no other player pair do that, usually it's only one of the pair doing that, not both we can see how they lost steam in the 3rd set in ko xd final agains xu/ma imo, hje good as she is, should give up wd if she is to succeed with lyd