I just watched the first game of the final (of the Swiss open) and I must say I found He's footwork and body movement awkward and lacking to a serious degree in grace. I wonder how she can get to the final and win it.
I heard the same from an "expert" about a promising youngster a few years ago, he commented this youngster's footwork and body movement awkward and lacking to a degree in grace, he will never win anything major, this promising youngster from a few years ago is none other than ... Chen Long.
A rare phenomenon of such exceptionalism defies the odds and overturns conventional thinking, just He Bingjiao's stocky build already raises a few eyebrows, let alone her footwork, wrist work, and what have you. I'm waiting with bated breath to see if she'll start reaching the summit a la Li Xuerui in 2012. By the way, didn't Akane Yamaguchi's similar build, and she's even shorter, give us a taste of what's possible? Isn't athletic prowess and extraordinary achievements often about how one pushes one's limits and overcomes one's shortcomings in the manner of what one lacks one makes up for in other ways? History has furnished us several examples in almost every field for which many of us can name someone or other we know of, such as Beethoven who composed some of his greatest masterpieces when deaf, Deng Yaping who overcame her small stature (1.5m) to become one the greatest players in the history of table tennis, and so on and so forth.
Another thing is, while I admit He Bingjiao's fitness and stamina has improved considerably, I can' t help but imagine when she reaches her optimum or ideal weight, she will be the most formidable, fearsome and dominant player in the world. After watching the replays of all her matches at the just concluded Swiss Open, I still see her heaving, panting, breathing heavily occasionally while flushed and wiping the copious sweat off her baby face now and then, significantly more so than her opponents, noticeably after a punishing rally.
Frankly it's a long shot for He Bingjiao to aim for Rio, not only is time pressing, there are so few OG qualification tournaments left, for Li Yongbo and coaches team to select her last minute for one of the two Olympic spots instead of any of her senior compatriots, say she manages to barely ease into the top 16 by the OG cut-off date (May 1st), is really pushing it unless she is ranked at least No.2 if not No.1 in the CHN WS camp in which case LYB et al can cite LXR's precedent in London 2012. Otherwise, I simply don't see how LYB can get away with it without upsetting the esprit de corps of Team CHN and causing an uproar, no matter how brave and defiant he is, the price he has to pay may force him to back down for the sake of team spirit, camaraderie, unity and harmony in Team CHN. Let's not forget, HBJ is only 19 years old, time is on her side, why be in such a hurry to push her to the front, her success in Rio is not guaranteed. All she has going for her is youthful exuberance and perhaps sudden swift rise to stardom in the face of undeniable relative inexperience and being untested on the big occasions, her extraordinary performance at the recent Asian Team Championships notwithstanding. Why take such a big risk prematurely and unnecessarily, on top of the likelihood of hurting quite a few CHN WS prospects (who knows, the affected Olympic candidates might even decide to end their careers in protest)? That's not to say it's impossible, just highly improbable unless unforeseen, exceptional circumstances arise in her favour, strongly. I shan't speculate what they might be, simply far-fetched in my opinion.
Let's face it - it's pretty obvious in what areas she will need to work massively to reach a constant Top5-level: Her fitness. But all that is needed there is plain and simple a lot of training and a professional approach. Just imagine her talent and racket skills with like 5 kg less on her ribs and some faster feet... she will become a serious threat for all the established players out there. But surely not for Rio, this will be much too early for her. Still I was already stunned about how fast she was moving around the court and how convincingly she thrashed WYH especially in game 2. Okay, it surely wasn't WYH's best day on this planet but still she wasn't playing really bad. And let's not forget who else she beat on her way to the final. As said, I will keep an eye on her in the upcoming tournaments and let's see where she will be in 12 months from now.
She doesn't have enough credentials yet. Besides dropping WSX for her while not be good for CL's morale. She will only have a chance if , touch wood, two of the top three have injury or sickness issues.
By the comment above I made On He Bj I did not mean I see no future in her, but that I am puzzled by how she does it. Small stature is not so a problem, as you say Justin we have seen what Yamaguchi and Okuhara can do. But in those cases, specially on NO's case, the body movement appears extremely efficient, while on He's case it appears chaotic. Nevertheless she manage to win so I reckon she has a special talent.
I just watched Swiss WS final. I think HBJ is under the radar of Chinese coach for RIO. After winning SWISS open her ranking will be within top 16. If she can impress the coaches in the last few tournaments, she have a chance to be chosen instead WSX. LXR should have no problem unless she injures again.
LXR has proved that it is possible 4 years ago. At the time she was 19 too when she started making the run to London 2012.
HBJ has entered into the Malaysia Open 2016 (5 to 10 April 2016), the Singapore Open (12 to 17 April 2016) and China Masters 2016 (19 to 24 April 2016). She is currently ranked No. 20. It seems to be LYB's plan to move her up to within top 16 on or before 1 May 2016.
LXR, prior to the Olympics in London, had a string of victory that He Bj is far, very far, from having right now.
HBJ is world no.13 at present. She is already in contention. As somebody said she is playing Malaysia open . She may have chance to improve her ranking further.
I guess LYB's plan is to give HBJ and Sun Yu some opportunities to demonstrate themselves from now until 1 May. For the Uber Cup to be held in late May 2016, I think it is unlikely that LYB will field HBJ since he can only have four WS players for the tournament. The third and fourth best players of a country could play a decisive role in these days. But I guess two months is a very long time in badminton.
Li Xuerui was 21 years of age when she launched her fairy tale run to Olympic gold in London 2012, merely two years after she transitioned from junior to senior level.
My friend, you forgot to mention the stocky Maradona and the bandy-legged Brazilian soccer legend, Garrincha, whose left leg was 6 cm shorter than his right one. Most of us will know about Maradona. As for Garrincha here is a link if you like soccer. http://www.biography.com/people/garrincha-21305801 If only HBJ had beaten WYH in the AE she would have had a shot at NO and may be CM as well. As it is we just don't know where she stands against these two players. I think LYB should just keep her for the next Asian Games and Tokyo 2020.
Agree. the priority for the Chinese team should be the ability to take on and win against foreign players. without such track record, it will be pretty risky. unfortunately, even the supposedly more solid candidates don't have very good track record.
He Bingjiao - The next Lin Dan He Bingjiao vs Lin Dan Career Winning Percentage He Bingjiao - 82.17% (83 out of 101) Lin Dan - 88.30 % (566 out of 641) 2016 Winning Percentage He Bingjiao -81.25 % (13 out of 16) Lin Dan - 100% (11 out of 11)
The badminton gods must have heard my prayers and reacted quite quickly - look who the draw has put together in the first round of the Singapore Open '16:
And behold... He "Chubby Cheeks" Bingjiao has defeated the mighty Tai "Killer Abs" Tzu Ying: Soooo sad that the match was scheduled to a non-filmed court though. If she starts working and training really hard, she will be able to enter the Top10 in an instant. Such a talented young girl!
