Isn't it wonderful? I was quite worried that he might do something stupid like trying to win the match. But I am glad he chose not to lol
I'm trying he won't really push himself in NZ either, if a match gets really tough and he falls behind...its not yet in the OG qualification period, right?
Interesting this just came up on my YouTube recommended viewing list...reminds us of just what a beast he used to be. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
A bit sad that's its commentated so incredibly badly. Although bwf's own commentary seems to be only marginally above that at some tournaments these days ("ohhhhh what a get!" "what a shot!" ~repeat 100 times~) One of, if not the most disheartening finals I ever watched, you never feel like LCW has a chance to even get into the match properly :'D
"Look at Lin Dan and the gamesmanship. [...] Lin Dan has been... he really has been trying to control the pace at which the game is being played between points. Is that normal for the Chinese team?"
I find it the opposite of disheartening. Lee Chong Wei has gotten much better after that. Put on kilos worth of muscle mass (what a wimp he is in that vid) and plays (still) significantly less loose shots. LD plays very well but LCW? He would have won f... all over his career with playing like that. It is a testament to his will to improve that he did exactly that. Considerably so.
Exactly, I thought I was the only one noticing that. LCW's lifts are many times woefully short. No wonder he's not gonna get LD's power smashes. He really improved his attacking play and overall shot quality.
What I meant is the match in isolation, without knowing LCW would get better and develop into actual competition for LD in the 2011 and 2012 (and 2013, I guess) majors. Looking at their entire careers, it's not depressing at all, in the overall context I find the 2011-2013 WC and OG finals worse because LCW very much had the chance to beat him, and lost (imop) mostly because of the psychological aspect of their rivalry (or his innate tendency, I'm not 100% sure, either way he almost always switches into panic-mode when he gets close to winning a match vs LD and gives perfect opportunities for counter-attacks)
Oh, the classics. "Great shot by Lin Daaaaaaan." "Look at Lee Chong. He was off-balance twice this rally, gotten back smoothly."
Completely agree - in one of the documentaries on LCW - he said he planned to retire in 2010 - but because he lost in 2008 to LD hes played on and look at the legacy he has led and he has added 10 years to his career -also LD said recently how LCW keeps him gong and he does not want to retire - true legends of their time
mate your quote Badminton and Lin Dan mean same to me. - just a quick question was badminton born in 1983? ;0
Careful, there. I think we're very close to blasphemy charges with stuff like this. Funny to think that LCW was already 25-26 during that game, so (significantly) older than all of the current top players (minus CL). On one hand is it funny because certain people always suggest he's totally over the hill now, when it's painfully obvious that he was a much better player at 35 than at 25. Also, because the same level of development LCW (or, to a lesser extent CL) managed past their mid twenties is never considered for the current generation. They are in their prime, period! And their prime is not as good as the mythical prime of certain ungulates. Personally, I don't find it hard to imagine that young players like SYQ, VA, KM or AG still have the potential to get better, especially when they continue to push each other.
But unfortunately physical wise LCW is no longer in his prime. Even though he is able to make a come back this year, hard to imagine he could pull off whatever he managed to do before his treatment. How good was the mythical prime of certain ungulates you had in mind there, by the way?