For WS, Tai Tzu Ying is the clear favourite. Her main threats are Nozomi Okuhara, Akane Yamaguchi, P V Sindhu, Intanon Ratchanok, Carolina Marin, Zhang Beiwen, Saina Nehwal, Chen Yufei, He Bingjiao - the first two named in that order then comes the rest in disorder. Possible dark horses, Chochuwong Pornpawee, Gregoria Mariska, Sung Ji Hyun, Sonia Cheah, not in any order.
I feel that both Chen Yufei and He Bingjiao have tricky R2 opponents to negotiate after the R1 bye, Gregoria Mariska and Chochuwong Pornpawee respectively. They really have to be on their toes from the get-go.
Sadly and ironically, LCW's raise in world ranking to the 2nd stranded him in this unfavorable draw..
Not really his fault as much as it is the fault of all the other players who are underperforming. MS World Ranking is a mess. Also, Momota doesn't have the ranking he deserves yet as he's just coming back. So yeah. Just tough luck but let's see if LCW comes through. Last year's draw was also super tough for LCW had he made it past R1 with Tian Houwei, CL, and VA in his way prior to the final.
Precisely, for aged players like LCW, and Lin Dan for that matter, the luck of the draw cannot be underestimated. But, life is never so predictable, you never know what surprises may be in store for you even when things don't look optimistic at first. Unforeseen circumstances may arise, or all the years of hard work and persistence, all the pains, sacrifices, disappointments and heartaches endured, may finally bear fruit just when you least expected it. Who would've thought LCW could overcome the most in-form and currently most formidable player , Kento Momota, in the MAS Open grand finale for a resounding victory to lift the hopes of numerous fans ? Who knows, he might just repeat that stellar performance in the semifinal of the Nanjing WC, and then the only question left is, can he take that one final step to lift the trophy on Final's Day and cap his career with a major title at last? One can only hope or dream. I'm sure, over the years there have been times when the draw had been kind to him but,still, a miss is as good as a mile. The same old worn-out cliche, where there's a will, there's a way. To be very frank, LCW must aim more for the WC than the AG unless he expects or is sure of an early exit at Nanjing. The AG that follows the WC has the team event then the individual event which he said he's gunning for but is his physicality up to it in the third consecutive week of high level competition ? LCW had better strike while the iron is hot when his form is pretty good and carry the momentum over to the first of the two majors before it peters off. Right, he must set his priorities right and zero in on the world championship, first and foremost. The AG is considered a major only for Asians where about 90 % of the world's top MS players are in Asia, but not for the Europeans , if not the rest of the world as well. In other words, only when or if LCW drops out of contention for the WC in the early rounds, does it make sense for him to go all out for the AG individual gold.
There is a more organised description of the draw in another thread so this one will be closed. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...-championships-2018-draw.177367/#post-2656381
