Its the End of an Era for Korea - so happy for them . 2 more years no More Son&Sung . For China , they are still too strong - new era is already on horizons.
You didn't see how hard Chen Qingchen was hitting? Actually watch the match and the play-style instead of looking at stats-- CHN dominated JPN WD with ALL OUT aggression-- nobody can keep that up for long... Trust me; just watch how Cheng Qingchen/ Jia Yifan will be performing on the professional circuit. I wager you will NEVER see that play THAT good again-- until the next Sudirman Cup where they can be rotated and rested on alternative days in the course of a tournament. I agree that Tanaka/ Yonemoto would be a good gamble-- but I guess JPN coach didn't want to gameble...
A very nice gesture from Xia Xuanze, turning down the medal for himself and offering it to Chen Long instead after Zhang Jun was garlanded one as he knows that there won't be enough to go round for all the team members
He has already "officially" retired (gone back to his provincial team)-- before getting "re-drafted"... As long as the national team is desperate enough to ask them, the veterans probably won't refuse unless they have completely stopped playing altogether.