Hong Wei ( 洪炜 ) / Chai Biao ( 柴飚 )

Discussion in 'China Professional Players' started by 2cents, Mar 10, 2013.

  1. fathonezic

    fathonezic Regular Member

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    I think actually Chai Biao is very good. fast at net and BIG SMASH from baseline.
    hmm, dont know who can be paired with him.
    but it can be seen clearly from their face that he is not suitable with Hong Wei.
     
  2. j4ckie

    j4ckie Regular Member

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    Or maybe they just have to swallow their pride and develop a partnership where both players contribute to discussions, similar to BoMo, for example. Personally, I think they have potential if they continue to develop their soft game and tactical awareness, they do struggle whenever they don't succeed with playing everything as hard as possible.
     
  3. lilmizsara

    lilmizsara Regular Member

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    Not sure about the personality clash, but they don't seem too comfortable with each other. IMO the both of them have very similar styles and this gets in the way sometimes, both are big smashers from the baseline (though I have a slight preference for Chai's execution), though I don't think one really dominates at the net. If I have to choose, Hong is the better attacker at the net between the two. Though I feel they both have a preference to hit hard and smash a lot but lack the 'softer' play. When opponents don't lift as much (ie: BoMo @ Japan open, second half of Set2), then they run out of ideas. But I do find this to be the tendency for players who are huge smashers and lack the lighter touch. Anyhow, they will be split up for the Denmark/French Opens. Chai Biao will partner Cai Yun and Hong with Fu Haifeng. Interesting to see how those partnerships pan out, as at first glance, both strike me as quite odd pairings.
     
  4. j4ckie

    j4ckie Regular Member

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    Chai Biao/Cai Yun is a pretty cool pairing, giving CB an outstanding net player with great allround skills to learn from and complement his preferred style of play. FHF/HW is a slightly odd pairing imop, but perhaps they can make it work - FHF has become much better at the net over the years, and Hong Wei isn't really weak around it either, so maybe they'll have similar success as HW/CB. Both younger players can certainly learn a lot from their seniors, who have won everything there is to win...
     
  5. lilmizsara

    lilmizsara Regular Member

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    Yeah I agree with the complementary combo of Chai/Cai. Cb can learn a lot from his senior's net skills which complement his back court prowess. But I'm thinking whats weird is the potential dynamics between the two. Cai yun seems to be quite a dominating personality.. But I always thought cb looks more comfortable pairing with older partners.. Hong and fu are the odd-er pairing. But I guess LYB n gang paired them like that for a reason.. So lets see!
     
  6. R20190

    R20190 Regular Member

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    I have to say I'm not convinced by the CB/CY pairing, they are too similar in their skillset and they don't seem to be a huge threat to the best competition... but I'd be happy to be proved wrong and see them succeed. I'm actually thinking FHF/HW would be a more interesting and potentially good pairing if they can merge well with each other.

    Is the split of CY/FHF official now? Haven't read any news on it.
     
  7. lilmizsara

    lilmizsara Regular Member

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    The news have mostly been in Chinese. The split doesn't sound like it's permanent. Though who knows. Seems like LYB and gang are adopting a wait-and-see approach with these two pairs. The main reason for their split was to give them a chance to partner younger players and guide them so to speak, with the 2016 Olympics in mind.
     
  8. j4ckie

    j4ckie Regular Member

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    They aren't similar in their skillset whatsoever....CY is the best net player China has, and Chai Biao is certainly lacking in that area....also CB is a pretty hard smasher, and while CY is not too much behind him in that aspect, he only developed his attacking play from the back court later in his career....FHF and CY both are pretty complete players, but if you consider their natural style of play CY is very net-oriented and FHF heavily favors back-court play. CB/HW both prefer to play from the back of the court, thus I think both would find that CY complements them better, but playing with FHF might actually help them more as he is more similar to their usual partner, only much more experienced and pretty much better in all areas :D
     
  9. lilmizsara

    lilmizsara Regular Member

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    ^ completely agree with j4ckie...for the first time haha.:D I personally also think that CY/CB do not have the same skillsets which is why they are to me the more complementary partnership as CY is a fantastic net player and can also guide CB in that area. Anyway, I've read in some Chinese news that CB/CY has a high chance of meeting their team mates Liu/Qiu in the second round. And Hong/FHF will probably meet the two Kims in the first round (or second, can't recall now) in the Denmark Open. Would be interesting matches.
     
    #69 lilmizsara, Oct 1, 2013
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2013
  10. Licin

    Licin Regular Member

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    Yes, based on the draw posted yesterday by our member.
     
  11. j4ckie

    j4ckie Regular Member

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    Don't be sad. There's got to be a first time for everything! :D
    Can't wait for the DO to start. F**king calf injury still haunting me. Nothing to do but study, watch baddy, do upper body training....I'm starting to detox and it isn't pretty! :D
     
  12. R20190

    R20190 Regular Member

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    Well I have to say I don’t agree. I’m not saying they are exactly the same, as clearly that cannot be. But whilst CB does have a slightly better smash than CY and so would feel more comfortable in the rear (like LYD) he won’t be able to sustain the attack against strong defenders, I feel his strength is actually in the mid and forecourt area like CY. Agree that CB doesn’t quite possess the solid net skills like CY but CB is still the best of the remaining, i.e. HW and FHF in that area.

    I also don’t agree that FHF and CY are “complete” players, they are exceptional players and obviously vastly experienced in their own rights, but I wouldn’t call them complete individually. Both have improved on their weaknesses over the years and are capable in those areas, but they are still quite far off from being completely accomplished (net for FHF and rear for CY). I feel that CB and HW are more “complete” players (albeit less experienced and consistent) than FHF and CY but don’t excel in a particular area in their game to the same extent as FHF and CY.

    CB’s smash is good, but not outstanding and is only slightly better than CY. What they both do very well is in the mid court area, fast flat play – which is the area where the game is gravitating towards more so amongst the top MD players. Only time will tell, but I’m certainly looking forward to seeing these two pairings play.
     
  13. j4ckie

    j4ckie Regular Member

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    CB is the weakest of the 4 around the net. Just like FHF, he has too big a swing around the net and wants to smash every single shot. I agree that he is pretty good in the mid court, but he is most definitely at his best around the back and pushing forward into the mid court. His defense and his net play are his worst qualities, although they have improved.
    Hong Wei is similar in that he isn't too comfortable around the net and that his defense is a bit vulnerable at times. Both are very good at smashing and following it up, which is why they are pretty successful so far - while neither is comfortable playing the net for a longer period, both like to follow their attack forward to it and are proficient at finishing it at the net, given the chance.

    In the early stages of his career, I think FHF was the most complete of the 4. It seems as though Chinese coaches insisted on focussing on his smash at the cost of net play and defensive capabilities though. If you watch 2003-2005 matches of him, he is very willing to play the net and not as error-prone as in later years, especially 2008. The best example of that is the 2003 WC SF against Budiarto/Wijaya.
    Just comparing the different aspects of their game, FHF might be comparable to HW/CB in defense but better everywhere else. He isn't an allround player though because his attacking play from the back still eclipses all his other abilities, and it isn't what I meant to say by calling him a complete player.
     
  14. fathonezic

    fathonezic Regular Member

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    problem here, i heard that CY doesnt have enough ambition to play badminton anymore.
    he is quite slow too now. CB has to cover many areas, i think, due to the slowness of CY
     
  15. j4ckie

    j4ckie Regular Member

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    Yeah, he's so slow that he only won the Bronze in the WC. Nothing compared to CB's achievements, of course....
     
  16. soulpx

    soulpx Regular Member

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    happy birthday to chai biao :D :D
     
  17. zhuangcorp

    zhuangcorp Regular Member

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    LYB said that Chai Biao and Hong Wei are pretty much determined to be permanent partners.

    I often wonder about this pair if their height is a hindrance to their play. Does anybody think that being so tall (6'3) makes it difficult to return serve and to hit the flat drives and pushes? The net is only 5feet high, so Hong Wei has to bend down quite low just to hit the flat drives.
     
  18. j4ckie

    j4ckie Regular Member

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    It's not difficult to return the serve, but standing at the front and doing sth constructive with a flat drive is a bit tricky indeed. If you don't have pretty strong and flexible legs and can move effortlessly in a very low stance, there are situations where your height becomes a hindrance. In defense, it's more of a weakness being so tall as well.
    On the other hand, being that tall has definite advantages too. Hong Wei has a pretty solid jump for someone that tall and thin, so he gets pretty crazy angles on his smashes, good power too. The reach is bigger as well, especially useful in a drive situation where you're not so high up the court - you can play many shots without even taking a step.
     
  19. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    For someone so tall, he's much better than Ivanov, who is slower and less agile.
     
  20. j4ckie

    j4ckie Regular Member

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    He is about 10cm shorter than Ivanov. Ivanov really is a giant, while Hong Wei looks very tall because he's so thin, but iirc he's 'only' about 1.90...but yeah, he's pretty agile for his size
     

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