I believe Lee Hyun il is in fact playing more aggressively these days than he used to. Around his 2006-2008 peak period he was playing a pretty offensive game with variations. But after the 2010 comeback he seemed content to just rally alot and retrieve. Somewhere through 2015-2016 Lee started playing a more deceptive game creating opportunies for him to use his pinpoint accurate attack Perhaps a smart move to be able to end rallies earlier considering his age?
I've been thinking, maybe the best chance of Lin Dan winning another WC is for him to meet his toughest opponents in the earlier rounds , latest by the QFs, and, hopefully meet someone a little less strong or difficult to deal with in the final when his physicality is probably stretched to the limit owing to accumulated fatigue. In the Glasgow WC,I speculate that if his semifinal opponent were to be Viktor Axelsen instead of Son Wan Ho, then his chances of advancing to the final might be higher, and then, hopefully, he got to play, say, Son Wan Ho in the ultimate round, on the supposition that SWH's attacking prowess and height aren't as menacing as VA's. Some wishful thinking. As it is, Lin Dan at age 34 is already defying the ravages of age by playing so many tournaments this year and , even more impressive, scoring two title victories, the MAS PSS Open which is touted to be LCW's ownership for years and the CNG MS crown for the 4th successive time in his career, as well as two runners-up , one at the BAC and the other, no mean feat, at the WC. Comparatively, the 35-year-old LCW isn't as hardworking, playing fewer tournaments, and winning the AE and runner-up at the JPN Open SS thus far. I'm waiting to see how the last quarter of the year will turn out for the two grandmasters, Lin Dan and LCW.
It impressed me a lot that in that match with Wang Tzu Wei, a hard-hitting fast and aggressive young player, he didn't cede the initiative too much to the young gun, and instead went on the offensive more in G2 and G3, otherwise,I'm pretty sure he'd be on the receiving end of Wang's deadly offense and be reduced to merely reacting to whatever was thrown at him and collapse under the onslaught. Kudos to Lee Hyun Il.
Frankly, Chen Long didn't help Lin Dan at all by succumbing to Axelsen 8-21 9-21. Had Chen Long pushed Axelsen to three games or even two competitive sets like the Finale, Lin Dan's chances would have raised by 20% Remember, Lin Dan pushed Lee Chong Wei beyond the Eighth Planet of our solar system in the Rio Olympics. He showed Chen Long what a true teammate he is. But alas no help from Chen Long whatsoever.
As Chen Long disclosed after his shock loss to unheralded Lu Guangzu in the CNG MS R2, he was carrying a thigh muscle pull injury that hadn't completely healed through the WC and during the CNG itself ( no wonder he was pushed hard by the comeback Du Pengyu in the team event). Since he is the twice WC and once OG champion, there is little to no reason for him to offer any lame excuse. When he resumes competition after taking an injury break for full therapy now, we'll be able to see how he performs to his true capacity. I last checked that his name is not taken out of the DEN and French Opens as of now. I originally thought he might choose the CHN Open in November to make his comeback, skipping the two aforementioned tournaments. We'll see.
Ooh La La! Lin Dan's wife posted smoking hot pictures of her training. OOOH them winds are flirting with her!
Lin dan plays badly against Axelsen in world championship final,. I notice both lin dan and Lee chong wei were unable to get smashes from Axeslen.
So, Tang would be able to formulate a strategy to play around age? Then he is indeed a grandmaster! I mean, I've read about 750 posts very clearly explaining that age was the only reason VA won the last few tournaments ;-) Cheers, FB
Ha ha ha... @Cheung , could you look into this issue? This is apparently one of Justin's recurring posts from 1998. ;-) Cheers, FB
Of course Viktor Axelsen won due to age factor. Don't even imagine that Viktor could beat Thomas Cup 2010 Lin Dan or any version of Lin Dan that won the World Championships let alone The God Version of Lin Dan - Beijing Olympics 'Super' Dan. Lin Dan's speed is 50% of what it used to be in his prime. His menacing smash, His life-taking overheads have all waned with age, especially now at 34. But Tang was light years ahead of Xia Xuanze as a strategist according to mainlanders. His record with Lin Dan in Major Competitions is unrivalled in Badminton History.
A majority of the smashes LD hits in that video compilation are literally in the center of the court. They look good but Axelsen hits equally devastating smashes right from the baseline. The younger LD was a much more tactical instead of strategic player. If young LD were to play the same attacking game against the Axelsen now, it would not work at all. Axelsen is taller, stronger and more physically capable in every way. His reach and ability to contact the shuttle high and early ensures that he will have the attacking advantage against almost any player. The height advantage also makes it much easier for Axelsen to defend, as his long arms will reach the sidelines with barely any side step. Attacking such a player is a waste of time and energy, because they will be returned easily. The only effective way to play against someone like Axelsen is to do it strategically and to wait for the right opportunity. LD in his younger years didn't have the strategic style he has now, and probably didn't have the experience to execute it effectively either. Again, this may or may not work as Axelsen plays the game in a very basic manner, not anticipating anything and always being ready to defend. It's like playing the computer in chess. LD tried numerous deceptions against Axelsen and all of them were swiftly punished. As a final note, many players are used to playing shorter opponents and tend to lift too flat. Axelsen's height forces opponents to lift higher, which gives him more time to get to the shuttle and play a more devastating smash. Nobody can punish those short lifts/clears like he can.
O please...Lin Dan played Axelsen in 2012 and beat him 10 and 12. We are talking about Peak Lin Dan here.
At that time Axelson was a kid. Only thing in common was his Gigantic stats. Other than that , he has grown leaps and bounds since then (technically) Sent from my SM-G600FY using Tapatalk
