Lin Dan's biggest threat in the past has always been Chen Hong. Chen Hong was the one with the most impressive head to head record against Lin Dan until the end of 2006. Since Chen Hong probably can't play in OG08 + he is not playing well lately, so not much of a problem for Lin Dan it seems. During 2007, only 2 players had beaten Lin Dan twice... and they are LCW, and Park of Korea. With the best winning record recently, Lin Dan definitely is the favorite of winning any tournament as long as he plays to his usual standard or above. However, anything can happen... and we will never know until then.
If the linesman from China,and the bad line call which is the '"evil in badminton" keep on repeating , then Lin Dan can win.
I don't know about other countries, but if in China the players get this advantage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kEc19cg-Ts The video says all.
I think Lin Dan has much less of a problem now in big tournaments... it was more a problem of the past . Even in Doha... the pressure was definitely a factor... but not a huge factor. After all, both of the matches between the two in the team stages were very close... and could have gone either way. And the same applied to the individual final. It was a much different story to the way he lost in 2005.
What a bunch of cry babies... Bad line calls happen all the time, and it happens in every single tournament and every single country. Malaysia Open 2006, the 1st set of the final between LD and LCW, and the first point after halfway interval was so obviously a bad call favoring LCW... so did LD cry about bad line calls, especially since he lost the match at the end? Get over it, babies. And some fans always blame others for their idols' loss. To make matter worse, Statistic shows that so far, LCW has made excuses towards all 3 of his loss to Bao ChunLai so far... either he claimed about "pressure, injury, or bad line calls"...Talk about leading by example. To me, that is worse than winning at all cost... this is about excuses making after each failure which is why LCW stands no chance of winning anything big. What else do you guys need to whine about next? match fixing? or the fact that most likely China will have more players participating in each event that most other countries?
As much as I agree with the bad line call in Malaysia Open 2006, it's undeniable that in China the judges' unfairness is so obvious. For the record, LD won the first set in MO 2006 where the bad line call occurred. He lost the second set, and in the third set he was leading 20-13. He has himself to blame in losing the title. What's he gonna say - "If the line call were called 'in' in the first set, I would have won" ??
For the record, Lin Dan lost the 1st set(21-18 to LCW) when the bad line call happened... do some research before making a claim.
You are saying, bad line call happened at china openbut it is acceptablecause you are talking about a big giant
Which part of the message you quote me on, gave you that idea?... you have amazing reading skill that I admire.
Yeah sorry my bad, I thought LCW won the first set. Anyways, LD has himself to blame for losing that match, he was leading 20-13 on the last set. Point is, China has much more bias line calls and if you read some articles, some line judges claim that they got direct order from the superior to be 'bias'. What a shame.
If people say that any player other than Lin Dan has a chance at the Beijing gold, can they ever provide one single reason why they don't believe Lin Dan, the most consistent player for the past 3-4 years and winner of 2 World Championships doesn't have what it takes to win in Beijing??? I would be glad to hear any kind of answer being back up by a "logical" reason and not an emotional one like "LCW is the best or something like that"
In terms of consistencies, I agree with you that LD is the best. I would agree that he has a better chance than anyone else to get a gold in Olympic.
It is just that more attention is being placed on bad line calls made in China. Honestly, there was obvious bad calls in Indo open 06 where Taufik was playing against Chen Yu, and also in the finals with Taufik and Bao... in both cases, the calls were favoring Taufik... but somehow most people don't remember them. I have got the proof if you doubt me. Even in the recent Cop.Masters in Denmark, where Gade played against Kenneth, there were bad calls... so anyone suggest that there is a reason or order for the judges to be bias? Where is the proof of line judges getting order from "above" to be bias in the final of China open? I know some were bad calls, but you can't just make a claim of "bias line call orders from above" without any proof whatsoever.
1) What Wildstone posted was according to what was published in China's press. If you read the China Open threads, there was a Guang Dong linesman who came forward to China's press. This linesman/Guang Dong Official said they were ordered to give favour to China players. When they didnt want to comply, they were replaced. The fact this guy had the boldness to come out and say it,makes one think doesnt it? As for hard core proof, of course there isnt any video recording, voice recording, or memo stating such order, there never is. It would be the Guang Dong official's word against China main team, whether it's true or not, one has to judge for oneself. In any case, when this story broke, added fuel to the controversy. 2) The comparision with other tournaments is- in China Open it was more rampant - in all departments involving China's players. Why then would Korea's top MD walk out near the end of 3rd set? And the call against Thai XD (Sudket/Saralee) in Semi against China XD? And of course the famous bad line calls against LCW in MS Finals against BCL. And these were others in earlier rounds. The details has been discussed ad nauseum in China Open threads. Plus, "bad line call" thing also happened during China Masters, but lesser extent. Plus, how come no complaints during World Champs in KL ? China's fans themselves are also embarassed & angry it happened - damaging to the sports & China's image. They should have every right to comment what happens in their country, right? 2) a) PG against KJ is own countrymen against each other, no one bothers about that. During Macau Open also, commentator also felt umpire harsh to give yellow card to LWW for delaying tactics. But umpire let KKK/TBH discuss tactics, seem to favour them little bit more, for whatever reason only umpire knows. But that's just Msia vs Msia, no one brings it up after that. And - since next year's OG is in China, everyone is worried same scenario will happen since linesman will be from local, only umpire, service judge are International. Hence the heightened anxiety. And to be back on topic(sorry, sorry, uncle Oldhand) Lin Dan is a smart player. If he can withstand the pressure of playing on homeground, he has best chance of clinching the the OG gold.
By the way, I like to add one more sentence to my above post... "China ain't the country known for "fairness", and if people haven't figure that out yet, now is a good time". By the way, no matter what the situation is, and who is on the other side of the court against me... I would get very angry if the umpire or line judge is favouring my opponent... but if nobody cares about it just because my opponent is from the same country as I am, I get even more angry.
ok,ok, I should be more clear. I said "no one bothers" cos they wont make a fuss about it in public. So, whole thing dies down. Team mate complain about umpire/line judge in match against own team mate, it will bring undue attention to that match. Looks bad for whole team. Yes, it may not be fair to KJ in Copenhagen, but I dont think he's about to make a fuss about it in public. Same with Macau Open - I remembered that match and feel sorry for LWW but they didnt talk about it in public. If they did, later on, other countries can take that and make trouble saying "Umpire favour PG..., Umpire favour KKK/TBH...." We dont know what happened behind the scenes, they could have discussed & consoled each other. I wouldnt say nobody cares - their coaches, team mates would have cared. More angry if same country?? Hmm not me, I'll be glad my for my team mate who won, team spirit ,mah. Fair or not fair, better team mate win than other people win. Just be wary of that same umpire the next time.
Because of the high-lighted part, I hope you are not one of the people who complain about China's team tactics, or match fixing, or whatever people like to call it.
