Olympic Games - Tribute To Champions

Now that the badminton competition is over, I think this thread is timely to comment on the performance of the champions in each discipline.

WD:

Winner : Yu Yang/Du Jing - these CHN tomboys bring a new breed of WD play, the power play ala men's badminton. Despite lacking height, both players are really adept at destroying more feminine opposition on muscle power alone. It is possible that this style will soon be copied by women's doubles the world over. Lee Kyung Won's injury notwithstanding, it was clear from the get go that Korea was not in the picture at all in the final.

Most Improved Pair : Miyuki Maeda/Satoko Suetsuna (4th)


WS:

Winner : Zhang Ning - Time and again, I have ruled her out of contention based on past performances where she couldn't even clear the 2nd round in Super Series. Yet, Zhang Ning has proven that at 33, her mental state is so strong, comparable to Li Lingwei and Han Aiping of a few badminton generations ago. Intelligent play pattern and mental ability allowed her to skip past younger and stronger opposition. It is this mental capacity that is missing among the younger CHN generation including XXF, one wonders if players with stronger minds like Maria Kristin, WMC, XHW, etc can capitalize in future.

Most Improved Player : Maria Kristin Yulianti (Bronze)

MD:

Winner : Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan - This pair had undergo a few trials and tribulations after their World Championship victory last year. Their preparations were hampered by Kido's father's passing and Setiawan having some health problems. Criticisms from within PBSI about their performance in the recent All-England, Thomas Cup and INA Open Super Series, and of falling prey to Koo and Tan were replied with an almost flawless performance against the very same pair in the q-finals. This was followed up with a great semifinal and final victory over the great Danes and China's all powerful Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng. As such, they also get my vote for being the most improved pair.

XD:

Winner : Lee Hyo Jung/Lee Yong Dae - This pair also gets my vote for the most improved pair. It is very rare to see a man taking charge of the XD tactical play, but this is what the young LYD did. LHJ did not have to shoulder the burden, and as such was able to play better throughout the tournament with less errors. LYD was so fast and effective, he was always there to follow up on net kills set up by his own hard smash from the baseline. Other pairs normally let the woman do the net killing, sometimes not so effectively.

MS:

Winner : Lin Dan - What can I say? There is a gulf between the world's top 2 and the rest of the MS players. But yesterday, we found out that there was also a gulf between no 1 and no 2 ..... :crying: LD answers his critics with an almost perfect gameplan, maintaining a high tempo throughout the match which LCW could not find a perfect answer. Although it must be said that LCW wasn't playing his normal game and made a lot of unforced errors, the outcome was a forgone conclusion since the first break in game 1. I have never seen other CHN MS player playing such consistent and accurate high pace game before, not even Yang Yang/Zhao Jianhua.

PAWS:

Winner : Sandy - Last but not least, our own Beijing Olympic Champion, is our PAWS coordinator, Sandy.

Congratulations!!! Although some of us (not me) might be questioning the "uncanny accuracy" of Sandy's PAWS, for fear of "insider information" ........ kakakakaka

 

One more thing.

I would also like to add a tribute to this forum's guardians, the moderator team led by Kwun.

I am sure a lot of "heated exchanges" had to be deleted, edited etc and forummers "sent to the sin bin".

Kudos to them for keeping the discussions at a reasonable mood and tempo.