My thoughts right now are basically lin dam always have a slight edge over lee chong Wei. But what I don't like about lin Dan is that why does he always helping hes younger compatriots? Self reliance please..
Yes, LD has the mental edge over LCW, but LCW has the skills edge over LD. LD doesn't have a choice at all to help out his younger compatriots. He has to toe the party line. Whenever LYB says jump, LD has to ask how high.
LD s helping his younger teammates so they can help him in return for OG12. If LD does not help, then there may not be 3 CHN MS qualified for OG12 and that s not ideal for him. He s not toeing the party line. All his teammates have to toe for him to help him win his second OG gold.
^^ True, true. And an OG gold is definitely worth much more than a regular SS gold, to the individual and especially to thr country.
I think LCW's mental drive definitely is more consistent than LD in that he's been in so many more finals (and titles) this year than LD. Skills wise, I believe they are both equal though LD has probably an edge in power. I went back and watched the Beijing Olympics 2008 final between the two and it's a massive difference in the intensity of his play during that time and the style he's been playing the last 3 years, with maybe the exception of this years 2011 world championship final. Unless he's playing LCW, I don't think LD really cares much for the regular competition anymore. In some ways it's a shame because I feel like he could add so many more titles to his illustrious career already, but it's a drive issue again. However as others have brought up, if LD is told by the team to lose or give a walk over, he doesn't have much say in the matter. Whether that is truly the case we'll never have solid evidence and it will all be speculation. However LD is like the Nadal for Federer. Whether it's due to playstyle or mental reasons, Federer has never really been able to crack Nadal's game. As such, Nadal has a winning 17-8 record against Federer, even though Federer overall has 16 grand slams to Nadal's 9. Likewise, LD has a winning record of 16-8 against LCW (freakishly similar head-to-head records with Nadal and Federer?). LCW has a mental block when facing LD, whether it is fear or just nervousness. Each person has an equal opportunity to defeat each other from a playstyle point of view, but LD has more belief that he will win. That makes all the difference. We don't just judge athletes by just their technical skill or their footwork, but by their mental strength as well. That is part of the reason why LCW has not had as much success versus LD throughout his career. But from what aspects do we judge who is a "better" player? There is no one straight answer. In my book they are both fantastic players who have a rivalry as good as that of Nadal and Federer, and we're lucky to have such parallel rivalries in today's racket sports.
