You said it. I don't much care for his behaviour on court either (refusing to change shuttle, delaying tactics and taking off his shirt) which LYB obviously thinks adds colour to his favourite. Playwise, he peaked much too early. There was that defeat by Bao at the Japan Open and even more recently at the Malaysian Open (?) which I thought were bad signs of over confidence and loss of focus. The last major when he was No.1 seed and flopped was in the WJC (2000) when he fell to Bao in the SF while Kuncorro took out LeeCW. Bao may now be the favourite, but I won't be surprised if the other 2 win.
Quite right! In Ronald's own words published on the front page of The Straits Times; "I played that match in my mind over and over again. I've seen him play and know his style. For me, it must be patience, work him around and play his weaker half of the court. His backhand." So Ronald has erased his semi-final defeat of 6-15, 10-15 to Lin in the All-England by turning the table at the Goudi Olympic Hall. The underdog has won!
Brilliant, as SunTzu says in the Art of War: http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6358
Well, at least to Lin Dan's credit, he tried to fight back in 2nd game. In the M'sian open, he just gave up 2nd game against the young Park. At least this result shouldn't really surprise us as both players are world-class. Sigit-Tri Kush's loss to Polish pair is more eye-opening ...... Congrats to Ronald Susilo and S'pore, hope he and Wong CH meet in semis.
OMG!!! what a good news in early morning after a latenight boozing... this is really incredible.. hard to believe though... I got up in the morning and searched through sports page of newspaper... but it sucks here... and then immidiately logged on to read this surprise... I love it.... I suppose every other player will be a bit relieved... very nice performance by Ronald!!!! But still I support wong choon hann to win this title...
Question?? For all who watched the game live... In the first set of the match, Lin Dan was penalized twice on his service. Why ???
mmm. Now this reminds me. Good thing the b'forum olympic guessing contest din take off. Lots of people would've been like @#$% LIN DAN HOW COULD YOU! lol.
I am not shocked with the defeat I am not shock of his defeat because he is not unbeatable. Lin dan has great potential to be the legend of badminton but his attitude need some amendment like learn how to respect your opponent and try not to underestimate all your opponents. Susilo earned his credit hrough hardwork. I am glad he use this strategy to win Lin Dan, a very smart player, I would say. However it is still early to predict who is the winner. But I got the feeling Peter Gade will win the gold this time. Bao- he play based on four seasons, inconsistency. Chen Hong- higher chance after Lin danbut depend who is the opponent WCH:- if he can defeat Peter Gade for the semifinal, I can start the celebration hehehe
yeah, it's too bad i couldn't view the match. but from what i've heard and from what i already know, it comes as both a surprise and not a surprise that Lin Dan lost to Ronald. Stating the obvious, it's quite a shock due to us knowing the level of play he is capable of playing. I knew there was that chance that Lin Dan would lose but I never expected him to be behind in score for most of the match..or was it the whole match that he was playing behind? As for it being not a surprise, there was a lot of pressure on Lin Dan to win the gold medal. For such an event like the Olympics, the pressure can be quite overwhelming..and for Lin Dan, perhaps he was not prepared or lacked the experience in dealing with such pressure.
I won't be, for one. Most Bf-ers will know how I always support anybody who plays China and yesterday, I had the feeling that Susilo could just pull it and he off and he did! Omigosh! I must watch this game somehow! I guess history repeats itself : no top seeded men's singles had ever won the Olympic gold and yesterday, the jinx continues. Ayuh Sony! Although he's playing Roslin but I have major doubts Roslin can outplay him. Sorry Ros - but I support you! Hugo Hugo, where art thou, Hugo...
Lin Dan hath foresaken poor Hugo and left him in the wilderness, smitten with sadness and broken of heart!
Rejang. I totally disagree with the 2nd paragraph. It has really livened up badminton and is NOT illegal. It is psychological. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the match but Ronald must have shown immense mental strength throughout. And that makes the win even more satisfying for the non-Lin Dan supporters. Thus, in this way, my view is that the badminton image, has benefited. Although Ronald may not do the stripping T-shirt action (*who knows later?), the loss of Lin Dan still is a shock and brings attention and excitement to our sport. (Much more so than Greece winning Euro 2004)
Well I never said that it is illegal to piss off your opponents or use other antics to distact your opponents concentration. I guess every players do that to some extent. It is just that Lin Dan does that EVERYTIME. Now that may "liven up badminton" in your opinion but I cannot see, how that could, apart from introducing unnecessary potential conflicts. I think the best way to "liven up badminton" by the players is to use their opwn ability without all the tricks (not badminton tricks that I am referring to) to beat their opponents. I particularly enjoy seeing "antics" of players like Marleve Mainanky who smiled and sincerely shake his opponents' hands whether he wins or lose.
Congrats Susilo, WELL DONE ! He has made all Singaporean proud even if he didn't get the gold medal. Personally i think LD had made too many mistakes and start to loss focus in the game. However he did try to catch up in the second game, but guess it was too late. Nice tactic from Ronald thou.
