I don't think Lu Guangzu can get better.This was the chance for him to make a mark, beating Lin Dan in the german open. Instead he lost in straight sets. He needed to win to show he has progressed . Some juniors have beaten LD , notably Loh Kean Yew. I am afraid he is not a future prospect for China.
You can't seriously compared matches against LD to measure the juniors strength. LKY played LD in final when LD had much less stamina, while LGZ played LD in the first round and after all the winter training and without a coach. So is it how players make a mark now, by beating LD? LKY didn't even make it through the qualification rounds by the way.
LD is a very good measure of a juniors capability and progress. If you cant beat him or at least take a set, then I am afraid you arnt good enough. Btw LKY went through the qualifiers and played many more matches than LD. I would like to see the juniors taking on the senior players. Only then one can say they are ready. This is my humble opinion.
No, he is not. For one, his performance and form nowadays is too unsteady to be a good measure. He can play well one day and badly the next day. You should be able see the difference between LD's form in Thailand Masters and his in German Open. If LKY played him now in R1, I doubt he could even take a set from LD. LD's lost in that final mostly due to lack of stamina. And if LKY lost to LD due to stamina issue in a final, LKY seriously has a big problem. I am not speaking for LGZ, whatever opinion you have made on him nor trying to change it. But personally, I won't count matches against LD to be a good measurement for juniors capability.
Well done Ren Chengming. Looked like a straight set loss to Wyman Goh of Malaysia but he managed to turn it around and win in 3 sets. But look at the number of players through from Japan. Certainly the strongest nation based on this showing.
Dutch junior saw only 3 Chinese on the podium but worthy winners. The MD is very good. They were fast and with a very strong attacking game which they used very well. Very good partnership indeed. They were the Aian Junior Champions in 2018 Liu Liang won the 1st set confidently but Christian Adinata came back in the second and made a dent on LL's game. I felt he was stronger, but he faltered at the last few points as LL made some very good winning shots before CA could regain his composure. This is the first time seeing LL , and he was strong, very quick and aggressive. But as CA showed you can't rely on those without good placements and deception. His smashes were easily picked up when it was close to the opponent. CA's smashes were just as effective and strong. In fact its a possibility that CA was tired from the semi final against Hyeong from Korea. The surprise was Han Quanxi the Chinese no 2 winning against Riko Gunji who although unseeded was very impressive in the semis , taking out the Korean girl who beat Zhou Meng. HQ played very well and has quite a good smash. Has good composure In the WD and XD the indonesians were clearly the better pairs and deserved their triumph. onto the German junior next.
Of the juniors playing recently, Liu Liang and Li Yunze stand out. LL imposes his speed and power whilst LY gets early to the shuttle but slower and with less power.There will certainly be changes to their style but hopefully not drastic. LL was impressive going down the business end of the game. Against Brian Yang they were tied at 15 all. LL won the next 6 points to win the rubber. Against Christian Adinata LL was 13 - 16 down but won the tie at 21-17. LL ,if I am not mistaken has won 4 out of the 5 junior tournaments played. His game will be studied by all the coaches. At the speed and power he plays, he won't be able to last the gruelling pace of the top tournaments and will tire by the semifinal stage. So he has to change and add deception and tactics. The only player to have the speed and power like this or more is LCW. But he also had many other skills as well. And he is a wonderful talent .
I also followed the Dutch junior with a lot of interest. There are 3 standout Chinese juniors 1. Feng Yanze - the 18 yo boy has won men and mixed doubles in Polish, Swedish and Italian juniors this year. By the time he reached the finals (both men and mixed) in Holland, he was already 23-0 for the year in all competitions. Alas he lost in both finals. Maybe he has played too many matches in the past month. 2. Liu Liang - only 15 yo but already won 3 of his last 4 junior tournaments this year. The only blemish was against Lin Yunze in Poland this year. He should be the player to beat in AJC and WJC this year, especially with Kunlavut, Kodai Naraoka and Lakhsya Sen not playing juniors this year. 3. Han Qianxi - she was nearly beaten by a Korean player in the QF of Holland (16-9 down in second set having already lost the 1st set). Still quite a ‘new’ player with her first exposure to international badminton in Malaysia last August (which she won). I’d say this crop of juniors is very promising indeed. Good to see China exposing their junior players this year.
I thought he was born in 2002. Btw there are juniors playing in germany, New Zealand and Orleans in France Amazing turnaround by CBA. Finally Gao Zhengze and Gu Junfeng are playing. In NZ together with others.
His DOB is 26/3/2003. I think this new Chinese stance has allowed super young players like him to participate in international tournaments. Oh ya, and there’s a significant Chinese presence in the Waikato international challenge in NZL. Who would have thought that
Thanks for LL's Dob. Yes after all the years of moaning about this issue I am so glad they have changed.
Looking forward to the Lingshui masters as all the juniors are playing.The senior women and men are not participating. except for Zhao Junpeng and Zhou Zeqi. Also participating is Wang Zhiyi, and Lakshya Sen. Taiwan and Indonesia have sent a large team. Sony Dwi kuncoro is amongst the indonesians taking part. Seniors are staying in Europe for the Swiss Open. The second liners S.Feixiang, Ren Pengbo, Li Shifeng are playing in the Orleans Open in France.
A great achievement by H. Yuxiang beating the world no 3 Chou Tien Chen in 3 sets. I used to write him off as someone who runs faster then the shuttle and making many unforced errors. Remarkable change in his game. He still makes silly errors but he has improved a lot. Great achievement by the coaching team to be able to transform him to a more balanced and thinking player. Its usually difficult to change your style of play and be winning against top players. I wish him the best of luck in the tournament. Well done the coaches. This comment applies to Chen Xiaoxin who beat the 7th seed RI. CX lost to her in 2018.
Chen Xiaoxin seems to have come under the radar and eclipsed the other Chinese 2nd stringers. She has never really played juniors properly unlike the others, but was able to beat top players more regularly than the others. So far she has defeated CM, NO, TTY and RI. Plus she always seems to beat CYF in both domestic and international matches. The only down side is that she is quite injury-prone. Eagerly waiting to see how WZY fares in senior badminton this year.
I see that on the back of the Chinese players' shirts there have been some stars. Shi Yuqi 1/5 star, Liu Cheng 3/5 stars, ZN 4/5 stars, LD 5/5 full of stars. What do they mean? You have more stars when you become older or somewhat?
