Yeah she has the mentality to be the best and will go anywhere do anything she can to achieve it, Kirsty could learn a lot from her actually. Anyways well done to Kirsty hopefully she will take this as a positive experience and drive forward.
Right, experience counts a lot at the early stage of a player's career and Marin is considerably richer in experience than Kirsty, certainly at GP/SS level.
Not sure which Jiao Tong but I read somewhere in a Chinese website or blog that he went to Jiao Tong. Is there a Jiao Tong in Beijing? Doesn't really matter. Both were playing a cat and mouse game in the first set with each trying to establish a psychological edge over the other by taking the first set. HKV was less patient of the two and that probably explains why he made two or three unforced errors more than THW, but there was a bad line call at the back against THW and this is equivalent to 2 unforced errors. Imagine loosing a point that you were suppose to have won to your opponent under the new scoring system. May be HKV could have won the first set if he did not make those errors. What is most important is that THW has taken one step further in his learning curve after having had the opportunity to play HKV in the finals. I added that he is intelligent too because he knew when to take risk. Notice how he broke the dead lock and drew away with a string of smashes in the second set when both were beginning to tire. That was the single most important decision which I will attribute to his winning the second set and the finals. Intelligent players have this kind of knack to size up the situation quickly and do the necessary. Just my humble opinion
I like Marin's stance when she serves. It is as though she wants to impart a spin to the shuttlecock like in T Tennis.
Yes, I've read that besides the Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, there are also the Xian and the Beijing Jiao Tong Universities, the Shanghai one being the most famous and ranked it to be among 151st-200th in the world by ARWU (2013). As for Tian Houwei, his performance this week is commendable to say the least, I don't want to get carried away and start singing his praises too soon, seeing as there are a couple more (almost) like him in CHN, say Xue Song, Huang Yuxiang and who knows who else may suddenly appear. For now I share mrinalini's feeling that Tian Houwei is a very exciting prospect and he may outdo his better-known seniors DuPY and WZM in time to come.
Good event. Hopefully next year a few more big name players attend. Would be good if London was upgraded to a Super Series and France downgraded to a GPG
LGP Day 5 report (semi's catch up) Semi’s day, and now we are down to just one court. We also now have cameras, big screens, an MC and intro music to play officials and players into the arena (actually a re-mixed version of ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ from Peer Gynt Suite no.I by Edvard Grieg – this worked really well here). Also on board is a racket re-stringer where you can have your own rackets re-strung by someone who has strung for some of the legends of the game. Semi’s themselves went largely according to script with, of course, the major exception of Victor who fell to HK. Victor may have been nervous and/or distracted with the one court set-up (and no coaching staff to consult), and being the poster boy for the event may have also played on his mind. With no such pressure, HK could relax and play his normal game. Carolina warmed into her match with Busanan who seemed unable to apply any effective strategy against the Spaniard, and went down in three games. For the home fans, Langridge and Olver vs. Chrisnanta and Neo was the feature match, and the home pair did not disappoint, both playing well and winning in two. And now a few other images of the day Finals report to follow. smautf
LGP Finals Day report The weather in London has been surprisingly mild for the last few days, and today is the best day of all with the Olympic Park (which is the size of a moderate sized town) looking lovely in the warm sunshine. First up is an all Danish women’s doubles match, and challengers Roepke and Kruse steal the first game. But Pedersen and Juhl rally strongly to pull back and then take the third as Roepke’s game in particular falters. But Roepke and Kruse are on the international Badminton map now for sure. Then it’s Tian Houwei against HK. I agree with all earlier comments about Tian – he seems able to quickly adapt his game to be able to counter each opponent, and even if it takes him a whole game to do so (as when he played Derek Wong) he does not panic. HK displayed a weakness I’ve noticed before in smashing wide or into the net when not under any particular pressure – he probably gave away 6 or more points like this today. Tian is without doubt the pick of the Chinese men’s singles players on display at this tournament. Mixed, and Langridge/Olver against Fuchs/Michels. Sadly for the home fans, the English pair could not quite recapture yesterday’s form, and Langridge in particular was not quite at the top of his game. In fact, neither was Michels, but the German pair rallied and took the crown in two games. Alas, the dream for Kirsty was shattered by the unstoppable Carolina, but Kirsty will recover quickly and learn. Take a moment to appreciate that on court in this final were two European players not from the traditional strongholds of women’s singles play (Germany or Denmark). And in the far distance you can see Sayaka Sato and her coach – how galling for Sayaka to have to watch rather than play, but how dedicated too that she is so determined to learn for the future. Last up is Boe/Morgensen vs. Angrian/Suwardi (INA). Untroubled by their opponents, Mathias and Carsten cruised to a straightforward victory, notwithstanding some entertaining play from the Indonesians, particularly Angriawan. I suppose the venue was about half full (c.2000 people) for these finals, so it can only be hoped that the various sponsors feel encouraged to repeat the event next year. The good news is, however, that their losses will be offset by £45, (the cost of my new Badminton shoes – I hope you like them). smautf
cheers smautf some interesting photos. Lol Taufik 36lbs tension with BG66UM. That must last a very long time
Interesting to wait whether Tian HW could manage his consistency in back to back tournaments. Her QF match against Ratchanok in WChamp last August was so close and balance. Next year, London GP Gold schedule will clash with Asian Games, I guess most of Asian elite shuttlers will focus on that multi sport event. Second stringers and Europe best are expected to take part Congrats to all winners, two youngsters Marin and Tian HW plus 3 seasoned pairs
In what way??? He has been playing international tournaments since 2009. This was his 17 th international tournament.. His first tournament was Li Ning China Masters 2009.. Check the statistics here.. http://bwf.tournamentsoftware.com/profile/matches.aspx?id=E54FDF41-B758-4F2E-BF62-1A287B1093F6
I mean this year; in 2012 he played only 5, too few and he only got to play in SS events when it's held in CHN.
LOL, that one is like, no, no, he's been around for ages, that's why it's not such a big deal that he's winning stuff now (like, it's about time!) and beating the likes of Rajiv Ouseph (who's a competitor for England but, well, you know...). Whereas if Tian Houwei were a complete newcomer and already experiencing such success, that would be like, harder to bear. LOL! The guy is only like, what, 21? He's already beating opponents much more experienced than him and will, IMO, go far. I don't know how far and how long it'll take him to get there, but he's definitely a better prospect than Du or WZM.
@Smautf thank you for the photos i really enjoy read your comments as well, i fell like i was in the venue, great job!!!