Is Lin Dan having a problem with the lights in the arena? LCW complained about the bad lighting in the arena - http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Bad...-Wei-not-used-to-the-bright-lights-this-time/
A delicate drop shot down the line and a jumping smash from LD stretches the gap further to 19-12. Another cross slice from LD followed by a body smash sealed the match for LD 21-12 and a win for CHN 3-0.
CHN v MAS, 3-0 MS1, Chen Long v Lee Chong Wei, 21-17 / 19-21 / 21-11 MD1, Xu Chen/Zhang Nan v Tan Boon Heong/Hoon Thien How, 14-21 / 21-15 / 21-10 MS2, Lin Dan v Chong Wei Feng, 21-11 / 21-12 CHN v KOR in men's team event final, three times in a row : Doha 2006, Guangzhou 2010, Incheon 2014, who will win tomorrow?
True, still rusty. Much less power play, not as fast and furious unlike his pre-LOG'12 days; more economical, lots of placement shots and very much a controlled game with more deception, overall more artistic flair nowadays. Admittedly, it suits his past-30 age and condition, including his family first mental attitude. IMHO, he's currently at most back to about 85-90 % of his best. Nevertheless, I still find the 'new' Lin Dan very enjoyable and highly entertaining to watch.
LYB post match interview: 1) MS2: Lin Dan hasn't fully exercised his power, he didn't pay his full attention to the game, to the wind and details, if it's a super series, he'll pay attention to that to avoid errors. He's just played 80% 2) MD1: We have 5 MD pairs at same level. Since LXL/QZH seem not at best form now, we use XC/ZN's mixed double techniques to surprise TBH/HTH. As mixed double players (Male player), they must have very comprehensive skills. Therefore, TBH/HTH cannot deal with that. Also TBH/HTH are physically week, fail to run after each shots, that's the reason behind the score. 3) MS1: Chen Long got his confidence back after world championship. ....
Yes, that WC triumph has greatly boosted Chen Long's self-confidence and helped him to regain inner belief, such that he's now able to play to his true potential. With Chen Long's rise and Lin Dan's comeback, CHN's strength in MS, particularly for team championships, is strongly reinforced as LYB said in the post-match interview.
Very interesting overview, thank you! I wonder what would Malaysian coach(es) say about their poor performance, especially from LCW and TBH.
Saina and yihan are in same half. And sindhu will meet li xuerui in quarters . Very difficult for sindhu . Hope she will do well.
Have you seen total draw. You missed the bottom half. Totally 64 entries for MS. CL is in the bottom half. Lindan may meet LCW in the semis.
Actually LCW didn't play badly, it was an 80 minutes match, in the 3rd set, his stamina couldn't match Chen Long's. Besides, Chen Long now is no longer a rallying player but one who seizes the initiative to attack, possesses a superb defence, that coupled with his physicality and athleticism as well as renewed self-confidence make him a really formidable opponent for anyone. I'd be very keen to see him cross swords with Lin Dan, hopefully here in the individual event. In fact, he and Lin Dan don't train together anymore (no sparring) for understandable reasons as their mutual rivalry hots up.
As Lin Dan is still not at or near his best, I would say LCW is not without his chances should they face off in the semifinal. We'll see. Before they meet, Lin Dan will have to take care of Lee DK, Hu Yun , then probably K Tago than Hsu Jen Hao in that order. It'll be a test of Lin Dan's fitness level when he has to handle both the team and the individual events almost the whole hog back to back, equivalent to playing back-to-back GPG/SS.
Looking at it, LCW should have an easy passage to the semifinal with only P Kashyap, then either Boonsak Ponsana or Nguyen Tienh Min in his way. Not so for Chen Long who in his half of the draw has to deal with possibly the likes of Chong W F, K Momota, Tanongsak S, Son W H, K Srikanth and T Sugiarto before the final crunch with either Lin Dan or Lee CW.
