Wow two 18 year olds, Liu Xuanxuan and Xia Yuting overcame the 5th seeds from Thailand in two sets. They sure have firepower. They smash with great timing which you can tell by the sound. And LXX has improved beyond my imagination. Could it be because they are being coached by Zhao Yunlei? In fact I see ZYL also coaches the other WD which lost to the no 3 seeds from Japan, and they are also a very strong and young pair. What is noticeable is their strong attacking game. LXX and XYT combine very well and certainly look like a very promising pair. If she is the former partner of Guo Xinwa she has certainly improved. I am glad to be proven wrong about her.
Fu Haifeng. Thats why Li/Liu are smashing so strongly. And they use it now to unsettle their opponents. They used to rely on speed and pushes but now they use their firepower. Its such a different game they play and a joy to watch.
So true, you can't win everything and all the time. I even think it's actually good for the defeat to happen now than later, it'll keep them on their toes and drive them to continue working on their game whether it's tactics or mentality. OTOH, it could be they were just having an off day. Personally, I feel such H2H records between ZSW/HYQ vis-a-vis their closest rivals are more normal despite their being dominant, unlike VA and KS' records against KM. The most important thing is to be at your best and play to your true strengths on the big occasions and some other highly prestigious events.
In the MD yesterday against the Danish pair, Li Junhui's smashes were not strong enough due to poor timing. He rushed the smash losing kinetic power. He needs to get behind the shuttle for perfect timing.
China needs more depth in mens doubles. He/tan,han/zhou not performing well. New combinations should be tested. Huang kaixiang should be a given a proper partner
Its clear that you need two good natural doubles players together like Ahsan/Hendra and the Minions. I think CBA should put Han Cengkai together with another naturally gifted doubles player. Too often there is one natural and the other not. I am not referring to Li/Liu. Its not a bad thing for them to lose here.
Maybe it's just my feeling, but I feel that young CHN WD pairs are lacking speed and creativity. Compared to other WD players from other country, such as JPN (Nami/Shida, Ayako/Yukiko) and KOR (Kim HJ/Kong HY, Baek Ha Na/Kim Hye Rin), they are very quick on their feet and able to attack even in some difficult situations. They also can defend and counter-attack very well. I didn't see this in some CHN players like Li Wenmei, Liu Xuanxuan, their plays were somewhat passive, non-creative and predictable. Dong Wenjing/Feng Xueying look quicker but still have weak defence. I hope they could learn and get better by time, currently seem only Chen/Jia and Du/LI (in their good days) could challenge ROTW
Yes you are right. But the two top pairs you mentioned seemed to have added firepower which enabled them to beat the top Japanese pairs recently. Also the two young pairs Zheng yu/Li Wenmei and Li Xuanxuan/Xia Yuting have potential and good firepower. I think with Zhao Yunlei's experience we see some changes.
Li/Liu is about raw power, nothing exciting about them. imo Han is the most exciting player in Chinese team but his talents could be wasted playing with Zhou who just looks like QiuZihan in built. Remind of me of LiuXiaolong.
Can't agree with the point about li/liu but totally agree with u about han/zhou. Han should be given a new partner. Most suitable one he jiting who is equally talented as han
Oh dear . All the MS in the Roza Bty International were knocked out in the round of 16. Looks like my hopes on this crop of juniors is wanting. Doesnt augur well for the upcoming Asian junior and world junior championships. Back to the drawing board for next week in Indonesia
I think the juniors are going through a change in their game, like Lu Guangzu and Huang Yuxiang . The coaches are changing their style of play which will make them better later. I hope so. Lets see in Indonesia next week. Interesting to note that Gao Zhengze and Guo Xinwa are the only two Juniors who played in Osaka, that are playing in New Zealand next week. GZZ is a very talented player and if he can overcome some of his bad habits ,he will be very good. Lets see.
Since the narrow win in quarter final in singapore open li/liu is not performing well & struggling. So mens doubles is in a huge problem because other combinations are not up to the task.
