Well,I do remember Hendra and Ahsan, but their Olympic performance could be said to be a disappointment due to not winning any medals. Personally,I thought Indonesia would start pushing their younger pair after that but it seems not. I do admit that Indonesian players tend to have a longer lifespan in general,which is nice to see. I admit I'm not very familiar with Zhang Nan,I've actually only seen one of his matches. I think it was at the All England in 2019,and they lost to Chia and Soh from Malaysia. It's pretty rare for a China pair to lose to Malaysia,it almost never happens,so at the time I chalked it up to him and his partner being old. I know that loss was considered an upset though and it could just be considered an outlier. I do think splitting up Liu Yuchen and Li Junhui would be a bad decision but it seems they've fallen out of favour? They're not included in the Sudirman Cup squad so I'm guessing that's not a good sign. I don't really want their career to end though so if the coaches think that maybe other pairings could work,maybe that would be worth exploring. But I suppose if the other chosen MD pairs did not perform up to expectation,Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen would come back in favour. I still think that China coaches would prefer if a younger MD pair came to the forefront just so they can do succession planning for the next few Olympics but I acknowledge there may not be one at the moment,in which case it's possible for Zhang Nan to come back. But I saw some old junior matches recently because I wanted to get some familiarity with the Malaysian squad,most of them who have very little other matches I could watch. At the time Malaysia was playing against China,I think it's at the 2017 junior championship. China basically defeated Malaysia resoundingly with the exception of Pearly Tan and Man Wei Chong(XD) who beat Li Wenmei and her partner who I don't think is playing badminton competitively anymore. So I don't think China lacks players,they are probably just hidden somewhere. Interestingly all three of those players(Pearly,Man Wei Chong and Li Wenmei) made it into the Sudirman Cup squad for their respective countries this year. But Pearly is in WD,Man Wei Chong is in MD and I think Li Wenmei is in WS now. I'm definitely anticipating their matches in the Sudirman Cup,I want to see how much they've progressed since then.
A glimpse of SYQ fine form against Chen Long in just concluded semifinal match, 21-11 / 21-9, really convincing scoreline. He's ready to carry tough burden becoming CHN frontman in MS category following "semi-retired" CL absence in upcoming major team events, SC & TC.
PBSI target is recapturing TC (last time 2002) & SC (1989), they have no better choice instead of bring the veterans to strengthen the squad.
Same feat by HBJ to outclass her opponent today, meanwhile CYF finds hard challenge to outlast Wang Zhiyi in physical demanding clash, it's plenty shots exchanging happened at position 22-22 (if I'm not mistaken) as both players seemed fatigue after this long rally.
GOLD MEDAL MATCH - ORDER OF PLAY (Friday, 02.30pm local time) WS - Chen Yufei v He Bingjiao WD - Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan v Du Yue/Li Yinhui MS - Shi Yuqi v Lu Guangzu XD - Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong v Wang Yilu/Huang Dongping MD - Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen v Wang Chang/Zhou Haodong
https://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2021-09-16/doc-iktzscyx4591363.shtml No, Chen Long is not retiring yet, he just wants to take a break and prepare for next year's Asian Games. My selective translation follows: “恭喜石宇奇,他打得非常好。输给了更年轻、更优秀的石宇奇,没什么遗憾。希望石宇奇在决赛中能够发挥出自己的水平,拿到冠军。”谌龙赛后说。 "Congratulations Shi Yuqi, he played very well. Lost to the younger and better Shi Yuqi, no regrets. I hope Shi Yuqi can play his best in the final and win the championship." Chen Long said after the game. 石宇奇说:“这场球对阵龙哥,我全力以赴。赛场上,总感觉龙哥是不是前两场累了,所以跑不起来。” Shi Yuqi said, "I went all out against Bro Long in this match. On the court, I always felt that Bro Long might be tired after the previous two matches, so he couldn't run." 谌龙坦言,打了十多天,时间有点长,但是赛制对每个运动员都是公平的,比赛的时间安排非常合理,只是对自己来说会有一些吃力,恢复得没有那么好。 Chen Long admitted, playing more than 10 days, a little long, but the system is fair to each athlete, the match schedule is very reasonable, but for me it poses some difficulty, recovery is not so good. [Perhaps Chen Long at age 32 is beginning to show his age, slower rate of recovery, esp when playing two such big tournaments within a short interval, the more so in the CNG for more than 10 days in a row competing in both the team and individual events from R1 to the finals - Justin] “人生总有遗憾,奥运会决赛输了的遗憾可能会更大一些。今年对我来说,奥运会和全运会是最重要的比赛。自己一路走来,还不错。”谌龙说。 "There are always regrets in life, and losing in the Olympic final is probably a bigger one. The Olympics and the National Games are the most important competitions for me this year. It's been a good journey." Chen Long said. 对于今后的计划,谌龙表示将会在身体和生活上好好调整,多陪陪家人。 As to what's next, Chen long said he would adjust his body and life to spend more time with his family. “恢复训练当然非常辛苦,但我觉得,只要雄心壮志还在,应该也没什么问题。巴黎奥运会还有三年,(能否参赛)要打个问号,先好好准备明年的亚运会吧。”谌龙说。 "Of course it is very hard to get back to training, but I think as long as the ambition is still there, I should be ok. The Paris Olympics is three years away, so (whether I'd be participating) is a question mark. Let me first prepare for next year's Asian Games," Chen Long said.
Grueling rally. A pity Wang Zhiyi failed to close out G2 and force a decider - she was leading by 3 points 19-16, then 20-18, but didn't handle the crucial points well, allowing CYF to deuce. And just when WZY trailing 21-22 managed to take that grueling rally to get back to deuce, 22-all, her momentum was disrupted by CYF calling for medical attention to her left thigh. This is where WZY's inexperience told, instead of using the opportunity during the minute's break to regather and regroup, upon resumption of play, she immediately served long gifting an easy point and followed by an unforced error to hand the match to CYF. On the whole, CYF carried on the same vein whether leading or trailing, attacking and defending proactively whereas WZY tended to play safer shots, a bit more reactive defense and even when an attacking opportunity availed itself, she appeared half-hearted in her smashes as if wary of CYF's retrieving ability when she ought to be more decisive and forceful in shot execution or risk the opponent turning defense into (counter)attack. Also I sensed CYF having the better stamina than WZY as the latter showed signs of slowing down towards the end. That was also the case when CYF played He Bingjiao despite the latter's much improvement in endurance of late. Personally, it gladdens me to see CYF exhibiting an aggressive streak more often than not, particularly in tight situations to get out of trouble or turn the set or match around. That, to me, is an important characteristic befitting a consistent top player. Wang Ziyi, on the other hand, is generally more of a controlling stroke rallying player, always moving the opponent around, probing for weaknesses or creating opportunities to attack rather than seizing the initiative and attacking at every half opportunity. Still, I'd like to see her injecting pace suddenly more often to prevent her opponents from settling into her pace comfortably, which most experienced mature players are capable of doing so once they get the hang of it.
Chen Long, unfortunately, played his worst match today against SYQ throughout the CNG - so many uncharacteristic mistakes, unforced errors, including misjudgements. And it doesn't help that his younger opponent is already quite familiar with his game as they trained together on a daily basis, not to mention the artful coach , Sun Jun, is at the sidelines giving timely advice during the intervals on how to play Chen Long. SYQ was practically reading Chen Long like a book, his shot-making so crisp with CL looking clueless and simply unable to get his game going.
Right, most of the CHN Olympians are fatigued after competing in both the Olympics and the CNG and going deep in both tournaments at that, the latter event stretching more than 10 days. If CBA doesn't allow some of them to take a break and send them to the Sudirman Cup to do duty, they are unlikely to be in good shape even to perform at their normal level. Therefore, it would defeat the purpose to have them there, might as well excuse them and pick some of the backup or reserve players to go in their stead. Better still, take this opportunity to inject new blood, select a few young promising up-and-comers , try them out and give them a chance to gain valuable experience at a major world team event. So, no Chen Long, no MD Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen, no XD Zheng Siwei or Wang Yilu for this upcoming Sudirman Cup, let them enjoy their well-earned breaks, if only to rest, relax, refresh, and recharge, the better to prepare for future battles and the many challenges, tasks, duties and responsibilities that lie ahead. But no such privilege for the young gun, 23-year-old Olympic gold medalist Chen Yufei, as it was her first major title to date, there's still a lot to learn, much work to be done, and heavier responsibilities to shoulder.
His name is included, I guess CBA still prioritize SC, TUC as their major target this year alongside Tokyo OG and World Championships next December. Apparently badminton schedule in 14th PRC National Games is shifted earlier than original time-slot to avoid clash with Sudirman Cup.
Oh, thanks, makes sense as Team China can't afford not to have both their surefire XD pairs absent from the Sudirman Cup,, in case it comes down to the 5th tiebreaker.
Yup, even SYQ felt that way too about CL whom himself admitted the last over 10 days accumulated fatigue in both the team and individual events as well as the Olympics before that has taken a toll on him, his rate of recovery no longer as good as it was in his younger days.
Chen Yufei avenged her team match defeat against He Bingjiao to take the individual gold. One again, this match demonstrated CYF's better consistency and accuracy as opposed to HBJ's proneness to errors made the difference in outcome between the two. HBJ really has to cut down on her unforced errors, unlike forced errors caused by the opponent's excellent play for which nothing can be done about it. One too many easy mistakes is costly, as good as gifting the game away, sometimes even suicidal at the crucial stage. That's how Wang Zhiyi in G2 against CYF yesterday threw away two easy points at 22-all to hand the match her opponent after earlier failing to hold on to her 3-point lead, 19-16.