i agree too. from Singapore Open till now, i do not see much weakness in CY/FHF. if there are no weakness, it's hard to beat them unless the opponents are better than them in every aspect.
looking back the thread created 5 years ago, I can only laugh at the OP. guess what? the latest top 5 world ranking women players are some the same counry, CHINA.
Well it's funny that just a week after this thread was started, Wang Yihan, then Asian Junior Championship runner-up, beat Pi Hongyan en route to the China Open semi-finals. Neither she nor Wang Lin dropped a game before the AJC final. To the degree that the junior championships predict anything, it had been 4 years since a the only time in history that the AJC girls' singles title had been won by a non-Chinese player (2001, when Jun Jae Youn beat a China-less field).
Li Xuerui is still the best but she alone is not enough, dominance is out of the question for now as far as CHN WS is concerned. However, it may be just a passing phase.
Fitness is the key part for Chinese WS players in order for them to be on Top. For reference check out Saina Nehwal. Each time she comes she's better than past without any Injury why? Fitness and Physical workout. The last match between Li & SN, Although Li won but she was out of breath many many times. Her legs are so weak cant take more strain. More workout and further strengthen Legs & Thighs thats the key!!! If you check, most of the Chinese Women players who retired Injured all because of leg injuries. This is what they all need to fix.
Over recent history there is always someone who can challenge the Chinese ladies at the top level. Camilla Martin, Tine, etc, etc. The only difference is that now there are a few of them, and their level is getting closer and closer.
I won't claim to have knowledge of some of the young Chinese WS players but if you look at how WS has developed in the last year, on the whole it appears to be favouring skilled athletic-runners more so than shot-makers or bigger, physical players. I'm very interested to see how Han Li and Sun Yu get on against them as they're completely different and don't fit the mold. Does China have an young players coming through who are skilled athletic-runners?
On the question of injuries, I spoke to a knee surgeon about Chinese girls and ACL injuries. It seems true that Chinese girls as a whole have a propensity to tearing their ACL. Something about having joints that are hyperextendable.
Han Li has retired. Besides Sun Yu, I'm hoping to see junior players like He Bingjiao, perhaps Chen Yufei and a couple others, make the grade and rise to the challenge as soon as possible, provided LYB meant it when he said he's going to do more to develop younger players.
Is it too late for this olympic cycle? Last time Li Xuerui had a set of phenomenal results leading up to 2012. Do you see Sun Yu or the others producing a similar set of results?
Sun Yu just turned 21, born on 24th Feb 1994, the same age when Li Xuerui catapulted herself with that phenomenal run to Olympic gold. Do I see Sun Yu doing a Li Xuerui? No, not really, though we don't have to compare the two at the same age, arbitrary to do so. As of now with the OG qualifying period starting next month and the Rio Olympics held next year, Sun Yu has yet to convince me so far that she can do it, the rest of the CHN juniors even less so. But life is uncertain, unpredictable, you may never know, but I'm not betting on it.
When you have world ranked 1, 2, 3, and 4 players in their prime years on your team, what kind of sane person would push them aside and send 16 year olds to tournaments? You would keep one eye open for the future but primarily, you just have to go with the flow and live with the ups and downs in fortunes. In the history of any and every thing, domination is never forever when taking long enough of a view.
well, it certainly happened. but it probably took much longer than what the OP expected it. it has been 10 years and finally the bricks are cracking and the tower is starting to crumble. at this rate, we might see China handing the Olympic WS crown to another country.
I agree and the way Carolina Marin and some of the Japanese youngsters are playing, it wouldn't surprise me to see any of them on the podium with a gold medal around the neck. The Chinese ladies are really struggling with injuries and their fitness level, although there was a glimmer of hope with LXR's performance at the China Open
I remember Indonesia used to hold the #1, 2, 3 and 4 MS spots after ZJH and YY retired. And now-a-day, the top Indonesian, Tommy Sugiarto, is ranked only #12. The question is whether the Chinese ladies can come back or follow Indonesia's MS footstep.
and ironically, the man who made that happen was LYB who took over the Chinese team during that era. so what can he do to redeem himself who let WS slip to this level.
