I don't have an issue with him holding a candle or even arranging a candle light dinner for Peak Lin Dan and himself but peak Lin Dan is in league of his own. He has made peak Lee Chong Wei looked ordinary and below average. There is a reason why Li Yongbo said Peak Lin Dan wins when he wants. Players like Srikanth, Momota and Chen Long have idolised PEAK Lin Dan and rightfully so.
Have we forgotten how the 'shorty' Lee CW used to beat all the tall fast attacking players? Similarly, the taller Lin Dan. The opponent's height is never a threat to both Lin Dan and LCW when they were younger, faster and stronger. Now that both maestros are over the hill due to age, around mid-30s is definitely 'old age' for professional badminton athletes at the highest level, some detractors are not above making unfair and unrealistic comparisons with subjective and speculative assumptions about the peak Lin Dan and LCW. We should also understand that when Lin Dan and LCW were still on top of their game and at or near their best, what with all the speed and power, of course, they would used a strategy that fit their conditions unlike now as they aged, esp Lin Dan who since 2013 has already started transforming his game. Incidentally, it should also be noted that Viktor Axelsen beat Lin Dan and LCW in the final of the WC and the JPN Open respectively. Had he met these two in the earlier rounds, would the results be any different ? My answer is yes, a fresher or less tired (from the accumulated fatigue taking its toll) Lin Dan and/or LCW would've a reasonable good chance of overcoming VA. Let's see if a fresher Lin Dan and LCW can beat VA going forward but, unfortunately, with the wide age gap factor, it'd be somewhat problematic to prove my point. Once the opportunity is missed,it's difficult to say, the disadvantage on my part is obvious. Nevertheless, I'm fully in agreement with ownz.uno and lippro that peak Lin Dan and LCW are a class above the current VA.
And I add, when the in-form Lin Dan does his jump smash, he has the height to bring the shuttle down no less steeply than taller players, including VA. Corroboratively, it's none other than Morten Frost who often during his commentaries stated that whenever Lin Dan executes his jump smash, he has the ability to hit the shuttle at its highest point (where both he and his outstretched racquet can reach when he is in the air, I supposed) to provide the angle and steepness.
I dont think the time at which they met had any influence whatsoever. Also, I do not think Axelsen in his current form would have been able to cope with the speed of 2008-2012 LD or LCW, but that is complete speculation on my part and all those stating their opinion as fact should maybe exercise some restraint I don't think you can spin VA's height as a pure advantage - taller athletes have more mass to move around, making them slower to react, and they struggle with changes in direction as well as turning and getting low to the ground. You see, there are plenty of drawbacks....also, being taller doesn't enable you to intercept a punch clear down the line, as that will pass you just as quickly as a smaller player, meaning opponents will not have to add height to that shot, only to slower clears, especially crosscourt. All those factors and the fact that no one else was able to cope with their pace and shot quality (consistently) makes me speculate that VA as he is now would not have done so great against 'prime' LD and LCW. I am pretty excited to see what he can achieve in the coming months, though. I said a while back that this was not (yet) VA's era, and I'm curious if it will become so in the near future.
VA is really blessed with the expulsion of Kento Momota though. I am just wondering what will those 'sudden fan' say if Momota is back to top form and continues his dominancy of VA, especially the fact that they are actually the same age.
Lin Dan best strength is explosive smash , without explosive smash . Nobody seem to fear Lin dan anymore especially top 6 world ranking players.
Yes, his lethal smash, without it Lin Dan is like a lion minus one of the four canine teeth. He also lost a fair bit of speed, so another fang blunted. Not only that, his defence is not as superb as before, a third fang blunted. The only strong killer fang left is his reading of the game, hence anticipation, born of accumulated experience and intelligence. Talking about speed, remember how at the LOG'12 Final with LCW, he sprinted a la Usain Bolt to the back to retrieve a shuttle gone way past him and got it over the net nicely.
Should be : Lin Dan best strength was his explosive smash , without explosive smash . Nobody seem to fear Lin dan anymore especially top 6 world ranking players. As I said before, Father Time is working diligently.
The biggest dent to his game is not his smash or his defense which in my opinion is still largely there now, although he did go through a phase where he was quite rusty in defense and hardly smashed because he chose not to use it as he adopted the new playing style. In my opinion, the biggest damage to his game that he concedes to other players without a doubt is his speed. I'm sure you will have noticed the trend in LD's matches where he often comes back after losing the first game to a decent opponent. There are several good reasons for this which I won't go into, but the effect of this is that he is essentially playing to a slower pace in this first game (and often losing it) but picks up speed in his second (and third) games and ends up winning them. But notice that in the 2nd/3rd game his pace although faster, is still not on par with his 2008 speed, yet it is still sufficient to cause 99% of players trouble. So what I am saying is his winning ability seems to be loosely related to his pace. Imagine if he was able to sustain this current pace (not his 2008 pace) for longer and right from G1, he would be even better. He has noticeably put on quite a bit of weight since Beijing so I don't think he will get back all his speed but if he can play game 1 as if it was game 2 and 3 it would make it interesting to watch against the best players. Comparing him to LCW for example, LCW in contrast still has and displays most of his speed but doesn't have the stamina to sustain it anymore. So often he is able to win his first game but then ends up struggling to close the match.
Please refer to what I write. I feel Lin Dan seem no more motivation anymore. Lucky he did not quit the national team. Wrong move by Lee Yong Dae, quitting national team leads to unable to play super series anymore.