Todays match of Lin dan : Lin dan lost 1st game 21-12, but come back to win 21-19, 21-7 Next Lin dan beat Darren liew: 21-18, 21-15
If LD wants to last till Rio 2016 and win, he needs to play less tournament since he is not young anymore. Not playing in the World Championship this year is just an example since he doesn't need another World Championship (I guess). If LD does indeed compete in Rio2016 but loses to LCW (or Chen Long or someone else), it will be a big blow to adidas. It is a huge gamble for adidas.
Not sure I agree with that. Yes of course winning is good. But LD not winning gold at Rio would hardly have an effect on Adidas' market position. I don't think it will be a "big blow" as such, particularly given Adidas' main interests are in other sports. LCW has never won had a gold olympic medal but has that really hurt Yonex? I think Yonex's decline in recent years is due largely to other factors rather than just one man.
of course, you are right. badminton is probably 1% of the entire adidas business. I meant adidas badminton, not adidas as a whole.
There is a picture on facebook of Lin Dan still wearing LiNing top. The racquet is black and doesn't have a Li Ning logo on the strings.
1%! Too high ! Also don't forget Adidas Badminton is not run by Adidas HQ but a licensee (that also runs the martial arts line; probably why you can't find these product in the adidas webshop)
Interesting. Can't tell if they're Yonex but certainly doesn't look like any Adidas I've seen. Could be Li Ning? Just googled the SC6EX, the sole does look like it but the rest doesn't?
I guess the shoe is either Li ning or Adidas quickforce yellow, its not yonex. No yonex yellow shoe ! Can see from here : http://www.yonex.com/sports/badminton/products/badminton/footwear/?page=2
Given that LD's sponsorship arrangements are still quite grey, do you think LD would wear something that would appear exactly as it is in a product catalogue or would it be less obvious? It certainly looks nothing like the Adidas QF I've seen. If anything, I would agree it looks very much like a yellow version of the Yonex SHB-SC6i that someone mentioned above. Gathering all the speculation, rumours and ideas I have read so far, it seems to me that it's still a battle between yonex and adidas as to who will end up sponsoring LD. May be he is tentatively being sponsored by both companies under a special agreement and is currently testing their equipment to see what is best for him before committing to a proper contract? I guess one thing is for sure, LD will have to make a decision soon as I'm sure it is in both the sponsor(s) and his interest to start advertising asap.
Yes, you may be right. Maybe Yonex can get LD a ticket to this year World Championship!! But it is also possible that adidas badminton is still lining up and sorting out the sales channel and supply chain logistics. As we all know, once the deal is announced, there will be a sudden surge of interest in adidas badminton. If adidas badminton can't meet the demand, it would not be good for the whole of adidas (not just adidas badminton). Another possibility for the delay of the announcement of the deal between LD and adidas may be related to the FIFA World Cup. (1) Everyone at adidas (from marketing folks to supply chain managers) is busy with the World Cup and soccer. (2) most sports fans will be busy watching World Cup and most likely spend their money on soccer related apparels for the next month or two.
I don't think the adidas badminton personnel has much to do with the football WC....also, I don't know of many people who follow both sports passionately. I for example watch big football matches, but don't own a single item of merchandise, even though I've been a fan of the local team since I was 6 (which is, incidentally, the same club I now play badminton for). Anyhow, those shoes REALLY look like Yonex, judging by the sole. It's exactly the same as on the Sc6 (too lazy to look up whether it matches any other YY models as well). Personally, I would find it reasonable that LD tried adidas, was not comfortable with the shoes and changed his mind. I found the 'old' badminton shoes (those Ikeda wore before there was an official adidas badminton) VERY uncomfortable after a while, and I spend/spent less time than LD in them. Also it's possible he just got a better offer from another company after a while In any case, while he may actually push badminton into the Tennis direction (different racket/clothing sponsors for a lot of players), personally I don't care much about what any pro uses when it comes to choosing my own gear......it just doesn't make sense. The only area where I don't consider it stupid is clothing, most is of very similar quality these days and if I didn't already have more shirts than I can use I'd probably choose to support a company I like by buying their stuff.
Having watched the first game against Liew Daren, I don't think LD moves that well anymore. He doesn't look anywhere near as good as in the big 2011 and 2012 finals (movement-wise). I don't know if it's just age slowly catching up to him, an injury, the long break taking it's toll or if it's maybe even a conscious change, but he doesn't seem to be as flexible (not that he ever was one of the most flexible players to begin with). His lunges seem pretty high and he had to take an extra step with his right more often than I've seen before from him, indicating either a loss of strength in his left glute/thigh, or a loss of confidence in those deep lunges. His jumps aren't as high anymore either, not that he jumped often The defence is still incredible though. Just look at that last rally.....
He is just cruising and warming up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzC5NUjz4Z4 LD warming up some nice smashes
Well I suppose, as players get older they tend to rely more on their experience and ability to read the game than their agility. Despite the change in LD's style in recent years to a more passive and patient manner, if you look at how he played when he first jumped onto the professional scene, he looked like another player. Going for winners all the time, bursting with energy, 100mph, no mercy... even the way he stood waiting to receive serve has changed. My suspicions are that LD has worked out that you don't need to be "red lining the rev counter" all the time to win. There are other more efficient ways to win without over exerting yourself. Afterall, he needs to preserve himself and prevent injury to stay in this game. I've not watched the match you mentioned but the match that was quite telling was the one against the young Lin Yu Hsien recently. LYH is very fast around the court but LD was able to diffuse and neutralise that energy quite well without having to play at the same pace. You may be right that LD is not as physically fit as he once was, but does he need to be to win?
LD would have to remain until OG 16. CL just crashed out of JO 14 to Hu Yun. With DPY and WZM not making headway looks like its LCW - LD show again.
