2019 was her breakthrough year. 7 titles. 2019 korea open the only time she did not make at least the semi's. then finished strong with fco, hk & wtf titles. i see tomorrows final vs. tty a 50:50 her peak run is beginning. what she accomplishes in the next 24 months will define her career.
Your prediction was spot-on. Just that I wouldn't say most of TTY's errors were unforced as Chen Yufei was able to get so much back that TTY felt she had to play the perfect shot, meticulously and going for the lines, hence more prone to errors.
As I originally thought it would be a 50-50 affair in view of TTY's overwhelming H2H advantage and reputation, the final outcome today took me quite a bit by surprise, a pleasant one in retrospect. In short, a masterful performance by Chen Yufei and that against a player of TTY's caliber is almost unbelievable as TTY appeared to be in excellent form en route to the final, particularly the way she bested P V Sindhu. Apparently, CYF's ability to read TTY's game with good anticipation and getting a lot back often with interest must've posed TTY considerable pressure and forcing the latter to put in a little extra and go for the lines, which time and again resulted in her making errors both forced and unforced. Even TTY's trademark deceptive shots around the net area and her characteristic set-up of smashing and then following up by rushing the net to put it away didn't trouble CYF as much as it as frequently happened to most other of TTY's opponents. It is a remarkable victory for Chen Yufei, second time in a row within a month and even more convincing than her two previous wins at the All England'19 and the WTF'19, once again cementing her place as the world number one. Indeed a roaring start for the new rising star in women's singles and it should bode well for her Olympic quest. Chen Yufei, great job. Keep it up. Way to go! Jiayou!
I also noticed Chen Yufei's shotmaking is getting crisp, neat, sharp and forceful, generally of a remarkable degree of consistency and accuracy, she's able to play a good many quality shots. Can't help wondering if Li Mao has anything to do with it ever since he started coaching for CBA.
"Chen Yu Fei handed Tai Tzu Ying a comprehensive defeat, continuing her remarkable performance in finals – she is now undefeated in her last nine finals." I'm happy about this. Always fun when the players you like have a good finals record.
Who is Chen Yufei's idol? You guessed it, none other than Lin Dan as reported in this article https://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2020-04-11/doc-iircuyvh7192302.shtml (translating only the relevant part) Chen Yufei in her recent interview on weibo (microblog) revealed she is greatly influenced by the two-time Olympic champion, Lin Dan, and hoped to emulate his on-court domineering spirit, and naturally she too dreams of seizing gold at the Olympics. Chen Yufei expressed that her idol is Lin Dan, " Rather fond of him, particularly that kind of dominance he exhibited, something I'm quite lacking in, wish I had that imperious air of his on court." " He is my role model, if I too can win (the Olympic gold), I'd be elated, that's also my dream."
Chen Yufei listened attentively to Lin Dan's comments during the match between Chen Long and Momota at the 2018 Thomas Cup Final.
Lin Dan : " You see that's how I dominated my rivals for 10 + plus years in an even more vibrant style"
Reminds me of how Wang Xin often availed herself of every opportunity to consult and learn a thing or two from the great maestro, Lin Dan.
He's a big brother and role model for all CBA players particularly current spoiled generation who should be ashamed to witness Lin Dan sustainable fighting spirit.
What do you mean by spoiled? Any players in mind regarding that comment or do you target the whole current generation? CYF, at only 22, is still on the rise. I mention her since it's her thread but may be you meant someone else specifically? I'm actually not sure that it's easy for this generation to live up to the standard of a 2-time OG gold medalist and 5-time WC. I believe performance comes in cycle. Look at Indonesia, Japan now, etc. It's rare to see a generation beat the previous one when it has been so talented for so long. So many factors including the high pressure felt by the new generation to match the outstanding previous performances and the long lasting focus of the federation on the golden generation/player, allowing him/her to play longer. Look at LD. If he had retire at 30 say, may be another CBA player would have replace him earlier on the tour and gain valuable experience already. May be that player is now already gone. It's the same in football. It sometime take 2 to 3 generations to match or surpass a legendary one.
Perhaps CLELY meant they are somewhat pampered, esp the younger generation,at that time still part of the junior team, who was more than once chided by Li Yongbo for being soft and unable to take the kind of tough training regimen, or endure the level of hardships, that the previous generations were used to going through. I can imagine if the CHN WS were to come under Li Mao, they would probably suffer the same fate, or worse, told to shape up or ship out (He Bingjiao the first one?).
Of course Chen Yufei is excluded, the result had described it. Character becomes one of key factors for someone to pursue success, fortunately Chen is hardworking typical player, ambitious, not easy to complacent and persistent. Most of current generation grew up in relatively comfort zone, less pressure that causing several players have very slow progress, being so active to participate many tournaments but ousted at early rounds frequently. We can't compare Lin Dan with other players who's coming from different generation, it's too unfair, he is simply exceptional, the complete package. China experienced golden era in mid 80's, powered by Yang Yang, Zhao JH, Li LW, Han AP, Li YB/Tian BY then nearly two decades it's repeated again in mid 2000 with Lin Dan and co.
You got my point, mon ami Zhang Jun, Xia Xuanze are too compromise, but they're under the spotlight for AE humiliating result recently.
happened to come across this on youtube, a practice match between CYF and Sichuan province player. you can also find another match between national WD vs the province MD.
Found this match on Youtube : Chen Yufei v He Bingjiao - CBA Home Tournament Women's Team (4th July 2020)
