Well, I am critical of Lin Dan's performance recently doesn't mean he has little chance of winning at Rio, just as those who are approving of LCW's form may still think he would stumble in a major competition. Anyway, I've expressed why I voted Lin Dan in another thread opened by latecomer, LCW and the gold medal at Rio, I supposed you missed reading it. Hope is one thing, if Lin Dan has no realistic chances, not even 50%,then it's wishful thinking on my part. Incidentally,Wong Choon Han and Yang Yang , unlike Peter Gade who favoured Lin Dan, did not single out one but pointed to any of the Big Trio as likely winners. Zhao JH said its between LD and LCW. Taufik favoured LCW.
You just get the feeling at the Olympics that nothing before really matters. You can use head to head and recent match results to pick the likely favorites for some matches in other tournaments, but ultimately, some players just turn up and come alive in the moment and others don't. What ever happens in Rio, history will be made.
I happened to be watching the replay of LCW vs JOJ at BCA INA Open SSP, and Steen Pedersen was saying since Kunshan Thomas Cup, he's picked Lin Dan as the favourite for Rio Olympics and LCW's performance hasn't changed anything. Another vote for Lin Dan from a badminton expert.
I couldn't care less about Steen's opinion. He changes his opinion on LCW and LD so often, plus he's a die-hard LD fan, so not really objective. Also imho, LD's performance at the Thomas Cup isn't anything to write home about. His match against Lucas Claerbout was horrible and winning a game comfortably against a mediocre opponent like LDK - no disrespect - is not that impressive either, nor indicative of his form.
Lee Dong Keun is certainly no shabby player - emphatically, it's how Lin Dan played and won (only slackening when he had an insurmountable lead) that impressed Steen Pedersen most, my humble self included. To each his own. I don't really see SP as a die-hard Lin Dan fan, for the greater part of last year he was in high praise of Chen Long mostly, sometimes LCW, only occasionally Lin Dan, it seemed to me.
One of Indonesian main sport website actually placed LD as favorite to hattrick in Rio for 3 reasons. 1) A sweet icing on the cake for his retirement from badminton after Rio 2) Accomplishing a record that might not be broken for a long time to come (gold hattrick in badminton) 3) Superior track record over his rivals in big titles http://bulutangkis.indosport.com/20160707/3-alasan-lin-dan-raih-hattrick-di-olimpiade
I desperately want Datuk LCW to win it. Both the world and olympic title has been very elusive despite Datuk has managed to win so many titles there are to be offerred in the SS and GP calendar. No doubt that the pressure is even greater now since this will be his last chance. I've once meet him in bukit kiara recently and told him that he still has all the qualities as a player to be an olympic champion in rio as long as he has a strong mental preparation while competing in the olympic. If he can be the king of the SS and in a league of his own as a double digit champion in both malaysia and indonesia open combined then therefore if Datuk treats mentally the olympic similarly like in any of this tournament then by god will Datuk will have the spirit to give Malaysia their first gold medal in the Olympic. Honestly i vote Super Dan to retain his Olympic title because he has a very strong mental foundation to perform very well especially in big tournament such as the Olympic. LD can be very inconsistent in the SS but unlikely in the Olympic and if Datuk wants to stop LD from becoming the first badminton player in history to win triple gold medal continously then he is THE player that Datuk needs to beat. Again Datuk as i said good luck and my prayers is with you. SS
My friends from Sarawak said same thing. They want this gold and wished LCW mind wont play trick on him.
You're discounting Chen Long who is viewed as one of the three likely gold prospects by Yang Yang, Wong Choon Han and Dong Jiong. Brave of you. I myself also think it's between Lin Dan and LCW who both have the edge over Chen Long but if anyone can stop the two , it got to be Chen Long though we cannot rule out any other possible spoilers or dark horses. The Olympics often have a logic of its own, always expect the unexpected, sometimes the highly fancied ones, for whatever reasons, just unable to perform to their level whilst occasionally the unfancied ones may out of the blue play above themselves. Ji Xinpeng at Sydney 2000 is one notable example. The reason why I didn't choose LCW is that he's faltered too many times, in fact every single time, at 7 WC and 2 OG of which 2 were in the finals of the WC to Chen Long where Lin Dan wasn't his final opponent. That's why I lost confidence in him even though he is the player of the moment. As for Lin Dan though I selected him , I also have to admit of his three Olympic quests (excluding the first one at Athens'04 where according to Susilo he was too eager to win, and at age 21 then he was still young and inexperienced) ,his form and condition is the worst at the upcoming Rio OG, plus age is another factor esp against young athletic players like Chen Long. All I'm banking on Lin Dan is his track record, his vast experience, his prodigious talent and his proverbial mental toughness. Just not sure how high his motivation, drive and hunger is as compared with his previous two Olympics. Frankly, I find it hard to imagine he wants a three-peat more than his first gold at Beijing'08 or two-peat at LOG'12. We'll see.
I hope ofcourse for both LCW and LD to play in the 2020 olympics also. I hope they will not quit too soon.
I seriously doubt Lin Dan will play at Tokyo 2020 when he'll be aged 37. Where's the motivation, age notwithstanding ? Win or lose at Rio,I believe he'll retire but still get involved in badminton not as an active player, perhaps to do duty in the team championships as CHN MS3 as and when needed. We can be sure, post-Rio, he'll be swarmed with various commercial activities, several of which he's put on hold these few months. Back to his celebrity lifestyle again, even more so, after Rio OG, regardless the outcome. But he did say before, one of his pet projects is to develop the professional leagues and invite many of the retired players to join in as a way of prolonging their careers and generating world-wide interests. Who knows, by then, we might see him take part in some overseas professional leagues, Malaysia,India, Indonesia ?
I voted for LCW but every day Im getting a bit stronger feeling that LD will actually win the Olympics again.
I think it will depend what kind of Lin Dan that we are going to see at Rio. History showed that he would be at his peak when he played for big tournament. After London 2012, he was out for nearly a year but still manage to beat Lee Chong Wei in world championship 2013. To me LD, did not want to play regularly after London 2012 to maintain his level all the time. However, he was forced to do it over last twelve months due to fighting for qualification points. A string of up and down results reflected this. When we talk about Olympic games, I don't think these results meant much. Personally, I think Lin Dan's will to win third Olympic gold is as much as the first two golds otherwise he won't stay this long at the expense of his younger compatriots such as Tian Houwei and Wang Zhenming. To win another Olympic gold means that he is going to reign Olympics Men single for another four years and to make the total of 12 years. It would be unbelievable achievement and he would definitely go down as the best of all time. My gut feeling, if Lin Dan is able bring back his old games (which I believe he can),by improving his speed, his accuracy and strength of his smash at the back, he is the man to beat in Rio.
My feeling is that after that Suspension for LCW (for almost a year without Badminton) LCW is a new creation, and has developed his game in many areas, and he has grown stronger mentally. LCW has got time to recollect and think about his past, and present, and now know what he is missing, and want he wants the most. I think LCW is much stronger and I believe his recent performances showed it too. Now about the LD, he is not yet upto his peak, yet. We might see a refreshed, more prepared LD in the Olympics, but not sure howmuch would be his desire for one more Olympics Gold. CL is the next possibility of the Olympics Gold, but his chances are lesser compared to the other two I feel. I don't see anything extra ordinary in his games for an Olympics Gold, that would threaten the above two beyond one level. But Olympics is for all surprises, and Badminton is never short of any. So anything can happen in an Olympics Badminton Game. Whatever happens, we fans will continue to love the game, for the excitement it provides..
From OG past editions, it looks like almost all MS top-seed found their tough chance to top Olympic podium, only Lin Dan who nailed Olympic Gold in Beijing 2008 as the records are displayed below : 1992 Barcelona Games Top-seed => Zhao Jianhua (CHN) lost to Hermawan Susanto (INA) at quarterfinal Gold medalist : Alan Budikusuma (INA, 5/8 seed). 1996 Atlanta Games Top-seed => Joko Suprianto (INA) lost to Rashid Sidek (MAS) at quarterfinal Gold medalist : Poul Erik Hoyer Larsen (DEN, 2nd seed) 2000 Sydney Games Top-seed => Taufik Hidayat (INA) lost to Ji Xinpeng (CHN) at quarterfinal Gold medalist : Ji Xinpeng (CHN, 7th seed) 2004 Athens Games Top-seed => Lin Dan (CHN) lost to Ronald Susilo (SIN) at first round Gold medalist : Taufik Hidayat (INA, unseeded) 2008 Beijing Games Top-seed => Lin Dan (CHN) Gold medalist : Lin Dan (CHN) 2012 London Games Top-seed => Lee Chong Wei (MAS) lost to Lin Dan (CHN) at final Gold medalist : Lin Dan (CHN, 2nd seed) 2016 Rio Games Top-seed => Lee Chong Wei (MAS) Gold medalist : ???
The great thing about being a fan from a country without a chance -- (prove me wrong, Martin Giuffre!) -- is that the winner doesn't matter that much. I'm simply looking forward to the spectacle of fabulous players doing their best for their country. Any winner is fine, as long as its done in entertaining fashion. (Except JOJ. Sorry. No doubt he's very nice. But he seems a bit too much like the type, from school, who slickly stole your girlfriend)
Hahaha that's the best post I read on this thread (esp the JOJ comment LMAO) I SECOND THAT thanks @Fidget
This OG MS is probably the most unpredictable because the young guns can t wait to upset the top seeded MS and have no fear of them because they have beaten them before. Still the best bets for the gold would be the top seeded: LD has to be the luckiest badminton champion of all time because he is an escorted champion. The only time he was unescorted was in 2008 in tiny Thai Open. This OG he has only one escort who has to fight his own battles. CL is a rote trained champion. His target syllabus will still be LCW. It s amazing how CL can lose to so many other players who have yet to defeat LCW. The only reason LCW still has a chance is because this OG, his coaches are different. The most dangerous MS looks to be VA because he s young, hungry and confident , having been instrumental in helping Denmark lift the Thomas Cup for the first time.
