LCW winning such a strong tournament and beating such an in-form high caliber opponent as Kento Momota in his prime, is a phenomenal feat. I mean, rule out the 'old' maestro's chances at the coming WC and AG at your own peril. Admittedly, LCW is fitter and more self-driven than his peer competitor and longtime archrival , Lin Dan who, of course, can afford to rest on his laurels. LCW, we salute you. Heartiest Congratulations !
If this was the WC, LCW would've choked in the last few points and lost the match. He always struggles in big events, psychological barrier.
And also notice that despite his age, LCW still adding more and more shots into her arsenal. His forehand especially, so many options with excellent disguise.
Come to think of it, LCW actually paced himself very well throughout the match by not attacking too much knowing how good KM is in retrieving ability as otherwise he would have consumed too much energy winning the few points and leaving himself exhausted halfway through the match. The strategy worked as KM seemed not to read LCW's game too well and often had to guess his opponent's shotmaking which made his job harder despite his younger age and superior fitness. Wonder if it's his own idea or Hendrawan and Misbun Sidek's.
Rank of today's finale: 1. MS . . . . . 2. First half of WS (the rest was just TTY helping HBJ reaching her daily running target) 3. XD 4. MD 5. WD
"Oh boy what an exciting match. So glad we got to witness it. Such a positive aura from both throughout and after the match which is exactly what we need. I should congratulate Chong Wei for being such an amazing athlete despite his age." Baddyforall: Hmmm if I type something similar to that, it won't really be me would it? Too nice and lacking in hatred for my taste. Yeah that's right. Let's talk **** about the fans of Kento Momota. That'll show them.
Plus drama, thanks to Kento Momota fighting spirit to make great comeback and raised the spectator emotion up again, no easy to give up when trailing behind 6-13. Kudos to Lee Chong Wei too, his credential as one of best MS in contemporary era proven in just concluded match despite the stamina has drained a lot. Congrats to his 12th MAS Open title! MD & WD should have the same rank, Endo/Watanabe practically did nothing, the quickest tie of final day. Next, INA Open Super 1000, hopefully we'll see same quality matches as All England did.
LCW and KM are slated to meet in the semifinals of the INA Open WTS1000 event next week . should they progress that far. But in R2, KM is likely to play Anthony Ginting again.