Let's not forget not everyone is special talent like Lin Dan. Chen Long is not special but he is hard working and has achieve a lot more than what other people would have expected of his style.
Wow, Shi Yuqi clawing back from way behind in G1, 4-12, 6-14, 7-16, at various points, then leveled it 18-all before stealing, I mean grabbing it, 22-20, is phenomenal. It reminds me of what Sun Jun often urged him, " Believe in yourself." If he can do it more often, that is, let himself go and play freely, I believe he is quite a handful for (almost) all his opponents.
What a match by SYQ against Momota at the Sudirman Cup. This version of SYQ will be dangerous if he can reproduce it at the WC and Olympic Games next year. We will see, but the SYQ in the 2nd and 3rd set against Momota today was definitely dangerous and we can see why he was picked over LD at this Surdiman Cup. If SYQ keeps up this pace and/or wins more tournaments before the Olympics next year, LD will be fighting Chen Long for the 2nd spot to represent China at the Olympics.
This is the kind of Shi Yuqi that needs to appear more in the future - Supreme Shi Yuqi. Super aggressive and just keeps on the pressure. Even Momota was blinded and dazzled by the sudden boost. There is no need to play slow, boring, grinding rallies like Momota, just insert a more aggressive approach when playing matches. Look how well he played and the reigning World Champion was out of the game instantly. Good mentality too, able to change his plan right away after losing the first game!
It's style of play and the ability to read the opponent. I think SYQ and Ginting match up better against Momota (although Momota still has a better H2H against these 2). Viktor has a terrible H2H record against Momota and for whatever reason, Viktor's style of play is easily read by Momota while Viktor has a difficult time reading Momota. Viktor's style counters SYQ pretty well. And SYQ's style counters Momota better than Viktor's style.
Sun Jun, Shi Yuqi's mentor, his evaluation of his favourite disciple is proving true when he said what's holding back SYQ, hindering his progress and preventing him from fully realizing his true potential is his mindset, specifically his lack of self-confidence and inner belief. As we've witnessed once in a while, whenever he played freely without worrying about victory or defeat too much, his talents are in full play, sweeping aside all opposition. His resounding win over Momota today at the Sudirman Cup final as well as his previous besting of the same player at the World Tour Finals last December are testament to his outstanding talent. Let's not forget he is still only 23 years old, born 28 February 1996, the day he finally becomes significantly more mature, experienced, self-possessed and, most importantly, really consistent in the quality of his shotmaking , including a wide repertoire of shots by being more creative, deceptive and good reading of the game - there is no stopping him from attaining his goals and fulfilling his dreams in badminton, I believe. (In case you're wondering why I mentioned SYQ's maturity as an issue, it's because in one of Sun Jun's comments of him, he felt SYQ was acting childish engaging in a tit-for-tat with some of the netizens who posted nasty and offensive remarks on his microblog, including name-calling, in criticism of his appalling performances, for example, when he beat his seniors Chen Long and Lin Dan convincingly only to lose in humiliating fashion to LCW and Momota in the finals of some tournaments.)
Just caught up via Youtube, SYQ should have won it in 2 i feel, he came out and tried to play a measured game and played right into KM's comfort zone, once his game plan changed in the 2nd game, different result, KM can play that defensive, consistent and neat net game all day long, and he's one player i feel really looks forward to a 3 setter as he normally wears his opponents out by then, but varying the pace and punching him with aggression when the opportunity comes, then it's a different game, apart from SYQ, i feel Ginting does that very well. Anyway, my days are Forever Amber from todays result, well done team China.
Shi Yuqi needs to be more consistent with the current state when he beat Kento Momota. Last meeting in All England semifinal, he ran out of idea how to handle Axelsen. Interesting fact that pointing out all Shi YQ-Momota encounters happened in China, 6 tournaments so far : BAC 2018 & 2019, Nanjing WChampionships 2018, CHN Open 2018, Guangzhou WT Finals 2018 and yesterday Sudirman Cup Final.
Perhaps SYQ could have won it in 2 games, or KM may have came back more determined in G2 if he had lost the first. We will never know. But one thing for sure is that SYQ employed the right strategy imo, one that echoes the way LD plays against some players - which is to use G1 to tire out the opponent without expending too much energy - even if it meant losing G1. Then increase speed in G2 and G3 when you have the upper hand. It was clear in G2 and G3 that KM could not keep up. SYQ clearly upped the pace and intensity further tiring KM. Usually a fully fit KM would be able to increase pace to match but it may have been a combination of fatigue from previous matches and energy used to win G1 that prevented him from doing so. It's interesting how KM seems to struggle so much against SYQ compared to any other player and looking at his recent losses to SYQ there are a few things I've picked up on. It's pretty clear that KM is finding it difficult to read SYQ's attack and this is probably hurting him the most. But how is SYQ doing this to him? I think it is a combination of SYQ's initial racquet preparation, holding the position (and thereby his opponent) that delays KM's early anticipation but SYQ also seems to have a very short and fast action on his over head which he manages to generate quite a lot of power from. Coupling this with the steep angles and mixing up of overhead shots, KM simply has no idea where it is going. I particularly like the way SYQ uses his height to play incredibly steep half smashes. KM is a player that really doesn't like covering the whole court, it compromises him significantly and tires him out as he doesn't have the best reach. So he anticipates and commits to the two most likely corners. But with SYQ hitting consistently close to the lines, perfect lifts, steep angles and consistent net play, KM's court coverage has gotten a lot larger. This makes him tire more and unable to anticipate as much. A lot of players have worked out that KM is reluctant to attack when the shuttle's trajectory is just high enough and deep. As KM does not jump to his FH/BH corners, and typically looks to play a passive shot to neutralize the threat, his opponents can make him scramble around until he makes a small error. But he has a fantastic ability to play high quality neutralising shots from seemingly compromised situations. I think KM needs to look to play more aggressive and really put in the effort to get behind the shuttle quicker and attack it rather than continually playing back to the net with the shuttle behind him. He was also not using his outstanding net play enough nor was he playing enough deceptive shots. His lifts were also too low/short on occasions. However of the two players I personally don't think we have seen the best SYQ yet. Sure, KM can also improve too but I see greater scope for SYQ to improve. I think if he can develop a little more speed and deception, he would be even more devastating.
Any update on his recovery? The injury looked horrible, but if there's no ligament damage, he should hopefully be back soon. Japan Open draw is seriously lacking in quality without him, Axelsen, SWH and LCW.
I am missing him already. No matter if he win or lost, he still have a good fighting spirit and interesting matches all the time. Poor guy, what are the odds for him to be injured right before WC.
http://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2019-07-23/doc-ihytcerm5559318.shtml Shi Yuqi sprained his ankle, swollen, during his R2 match with Anders Antonsen at the INA Open'19 Super 1000 tournament. As he himself revealed on weibo(microblog):"Thanks everyone yesterday night (when the injury occurred), it's late already and they are still waiting for my news. This morning, went to the hospital for my medical report, it's nothing serious, you can feel relieved. Upon returning home (to China), I will go to hospital for further examination, then discuss with my coach and team doctor on the treatment and rehabilitation program. Hope to be back competing as soon as possible." There are some fans who posted Shi Yuqi's private correspondence where SYQ wrote that there was a ligament tear with edema, at the moment no sign of bone fracture. On grounds of injury, he would withdraw from the Japan Open, at present it's not known if he can make it to the world championships. Although it will affect his Olympic qualification ranking points but for the sake of the future of his professional career , CBA will put stability first and ensure he is fully recovered before letting him resume competition. For now we can only wish Shi Yuqi speedy recovery, and may he come back soon.
Not sure if he can make it just in time for Basel 2019, maybe needs at least four to six weeks to fully recovered. It's just an unfortunate event that can happen to any player, Tokyo 2020 is top priority. China camp is suffering big blow right now, Lin Dan, Chen Long and a bunch of mediocre back-up players are far from high expectation to nail MS crown.
Right, CHN MS is suddenly in a crisis situation, with their top gun Shi Yuqi, a frontrunner and world championship contender, unfortunately injured, Lin Dan unconvincing, Chen Long under-performing, and the other two , Lu Guangzu and Huang Yuxiang, yet to show real signs of breaking through. HYX beating Momota unexpectedly last week is probably a one-off result as he didn't follow it up with good results to match against opponents lesser than KM. The CHN second tier MS isn't exactly outstanding vis-a-vis their counterparts in the rest of the world, I have in mind youngsters like Li Shifeng, Sun Feixiang, Weng Hongyang, Liu Haichao, even Ren Pengbo who is 22 years old already, haven't been too impressive despite their potential. Other CHN second tier MS, I'm afraid, are even less hopeful, viz., Zhou Zeqi, Zhao Junpeng.
Well, I'm not a psychic but have feeling those three names couldn't make it and transform to be star player.
http://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2019-08-01/doc-ihytcerm7803198.shtml The second day after Shi Yuqi returned home to Beijing from the INA Open where he sustained the ankle injury, he underwent further medical examination at the Beijing 3rd Hospital and it was discovered there's a ligament tear for which he opted for surgery. The operation was carried out successfully last week and he's been put on a cast. Though the author wasn't sure if he could play the Basel World Championships as he didn't get any confirmation from CBA though Shi Yuqi himself is quite optimistic about his recovery , I think we can take it as out of the question for him. First, he won't be in good shape, and, second, he risks further injury pushing himself hard at such a major event. I mean, why compete if you're not going to give your utter best to get a crack at the title. In my humble opinion, not worth the risks, injudicious, as he is still relatively young at 23 years of age and there is the all-important Tokyo Olympics next year where he still has to qualify for. I'm sure the CHN coaches will do the right thing for his future career.
It's definitely Li-Ning's as CBA is sponsored by Li-Ning (except for Lin Dan as far as racquet and shoes are concerned), not sure which model. You might want to check it out on the Li-Ning website.
