A lot depends on KKK/TBH performances from now on all the way up to OLY08. If they continue to tank, then your prediction may have merit. If they do well beginning with MO08 onwards, then I say at least SF is attainable. I bet you a real Italian dinner, I will collect or buy you the dinner should we meet one day in MAS (we plan to retire 4 months/year in MAS eventually) that KKK/TBH will medal in OLY08, i.e. any color of medal...
Which race do not play which sport?!? English, Danes, Germans, Russians, Polish, Americans, Egyptians, Pakistani, even some Brazilians play badminton [I was in Brazil last year]... While Chinese, Indonesians, Africans, Americans play soccer...
Since there are at least 7-8 top pairs in the world capable of winning gold in OLY, and only one pair can win OLY gold, therefore if KKK/TBH lost in final and get silver, that is a 'bust'...well, you have certainly put KKK/TBH on a very high pedestal and that shows you rate them very high despite your criticism of them...as I said, you are a passionate MAS fan, who very much like us who wanted MAS to do well and KKK/TBH to win nothing but gold....LOL!!!
And I would bet on KKK/TBH win gold since there are 7-8 pairs that can win the gold biscuit in OLY08...I don't like my odds 1 chance out of 8, and you get to win 7 chance out of 8...maybe XBall can take the bet since he bet on LCW and KKK/TBH winning gold in WC07...LOL!!!
My friend, you are wrong. Yes, I would be very happy if Msia take that men's doubles gold in Beijing. But KKK/TBH dont have it in them to win that gold. KKK is a flash in the pan. And I certainly dont rate KKK/TBH at all. I think LWW/CTF have a better chance than KKK/TBH.
Nice to hear from you...regardless of the draw, if our uncles LWW/CTF goes further than TBH/KKK in OLY08, I bet any dinner you wants...just IOU till we meet one day and loser pays...LOL!!
Ohhh, now I know why you compare it to football. I was just wondering why there's not much comparision ( in this forum at least) to bowling and squash. We have reigning Asian Games and World Champs from these two sports - bowling = Womens Team event, they just won the World Champs in Sept, before that was gold at AG. Squash=of course squash queen Nicol David. Granted they are not Olympic sport, hence lesser coverage. Point is : how did they break the mental barrier to win and keep winning ? Sailing(is it an Olympic sport?) : I still amazed with the 15 year old Malaysian girl who won the AG gold. For all we know, Malaysia's 1st gold in Olympics next year will come from some Category B sport. On another note, about the 'mentally weak' issue, maybe KKK/TBH should learn a thing or two from Nicol (being a fellow Malaysian, that have broken the mental barrier) on how to become a champion and remain a champion. KKK/TBH - At WC, wasnt the fingers pointed at TBH for losing the match against the Ikeda/Sakamoto? TBH was nervous, so they lost- again the 'mentally weak" issue came up. And LCW losing in 3rd round from "too much pressure from chief coach" didn't make it any better. But I don't believe 100% what the media says, they tend to sensationlize things. Sometimes I think Rexy purposely says things in certain ways to send messages to officials, etc.
Sporting Nations Ah, we have a few answers here: Nepal doesn't have rugby or sepak takraw or fencing Bhutan doesn't have swimming pools or lacrosse or gymnastics There's also no badminton in Bhutan or Samoa Neither of these countries has equestrian events either (Imagine a 140kg Samoan on a horse.) Poland, Jamaica, Cuba, Chile, Senegal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Qatar, Germany... these are a few of the over 160 countries that don't have sumo wrestling Most Maldivian resorts have courts, but the locals don't play badminton... only the foreigners (the tourists and the service staff) do. And, of course, there's no golf in the Maldives Iran doesn't have ice-hockey The only sport in Afghanistan is hostaging Iraq has a different version - bodybagging (Just pulling Krsna's leg, of course.)
Yeah, there's simply no space. The capital island is Male', which is only about 2km long. And it's packed to the gills with buildings and people. The biggest island, Sun Island, is about 7km long (I've stayed there)... that one too doesn't have a course. I've also been to several of the bigger resports... it's the same there. Perhaps one of the resorts might have a putting green or a covered fairway for practice, but that doesn't make a golf course.
Off topic-If so.. ..then, if you haven't visited these threads below, feel free to chime in there with the rest of the (BC) football fanatics!! http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46594&page=9 or http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35271&page=16
Off Topic a bit If you do meet up with your football friends and get fed up with "mentally weak" attitudes, tell them this story: I read in the newspapers a couple of weeks back about a male squash back-up player. Forgot his name, never heard of him before that article. He wanted to go overseas to where Nicol, Sharon Wee, Ong BH, Azlan Iskandar are based. He wanted a training stint under Azlan's coach, plus participating in some tournaments to bring his game up a notch. He said if doesn't he won't make the grade in the International scene. But NSC only funds overseas stints for the elite players, i.e. Nicol et al. So this young man had to find his own sponsors. He found some, Azlan helped him find some more. The $$$$ gathered was enough to last 3 to 4 months. He had to pay his own way just to get better training and exposure. Now, that's drive & determination. Hopefuly, he'll be good enuf to take over from Ong BH and Azlan in future. A few posts back, someone touched on the race issue in football - just so happens this squash back up player is a Malay guy, so if there's drive and determination, there's no race divide. Btw, if Msia do win the Olympic Gold next year from badminton(whether MS or MD), you gotta 'belanja makan' me too. I don't have to take a flight to visit, he he he.
i think KKK and TBH should start their quest for the 2008 olympic gold by simply winning the MD finals tomorrow. they did beat Kido and Setiawan in just 25 mins (more or less) in their semis, so i guess they are not too tired for the finals tomorrow. cheers!
What have they achieved?? Making the finals at MO??? You equate the Macau Open as big as the WC or the Olympics??? Your post reminds me of our Angkasawan project. Look up NASA website and check out the crew details. You will see our Malaysian guy listed as "Spaceflight Participant". NASA dont even recognize our guy as an astronaut. Spaceflight Participant = Tourist/Passenger. But in Malaysia, in our syiok sendiri syndrome, our guy is an 'Astronaut' aka Angkasawan bukan Pengunjung Angkasa. KKK/TBH just made the finals of Macau Open, and you are already creaming. Dude, I wont be surprise if KKK/TBH win the Johor Bahru Open, and you be jumping that I was proven wrong.
