The advertisement with LYD jumping... is that how he usually grips his racket for jump-smashes? So... strange...
LYD looks to have put on a bit of weight... lol He is definitely more bulky than he was when he won his olympic gold medal.
Yes Bro, you are right. Malaysia players are using Yonex racket in All England 2015. Still in racket testing and transition stage, maybe in the next SS or GPG Malaysia players will fully use Victor's rackets. Attached a pic from All England 2015 (Day 2) where Tan Aik Quan/Lai Pei Jing (Malaysia) vs Kim Gi Jung/Chan Shin Seung (Korea). In this photo clearly showing Tan Aik Quan using Yonex Nanoray Z-Speed but without Yonex stensil.
His grip looks a little "pan handle"- esque in the photo. That said, that photo is so touched up he may have never even been holding a racquet when the original picture was taken. Lol A smash grip should look more like in the photo a few posts up. Also, back on topic. Why is nobody making a big deal out of this whole "LD Sport" thing. I thought it would be big news.
Yes that is his usual grip. He rarely grips all the way down unless he's out of position and running for a shot that needs a full stretch. I grip like that too. I find nothing strange about it nor do I find any real impact on the quality of my smash. Maybe the hardest ones aren't as fast as when I grip all the way down. But it isn't anything truly different as long as the placement is good.