TH made history by winning OG and WC and AG before LD. LD made history by winning OG and WC and AE. Is that what you're talking about?
Oops, I meant 2006 AG MSF TH over LD. LD was not as good in net exchanges in that game and he was frustrated. LD has removed that weakness now. 2007 JO MSF LCW vs. TH was also a very close game. TH saved several match points and could be even at 19-20 had his string not broken as he smashed the last rally.
i do believe that it is difficult for LD to get motivated. 2012 london is almost 4 yrs away and even that will be a done that, been there situation for him. may be now LCW got one over him that he will be more 'interested' next time they meet. i was secretly hoping that the final will be between LD and TH. to start with that wouldnt be LD/LCW again and sure both would like to beat the other just to settle the score or shut the other up.
I also hope that gade can go to final too .... koo_fanG shud be able to find the way, starting now.(I think he will say like that) Anyway koo is correct ... they need to find the way
It's less controversial to say that LD is the most successful MS of all time... and the best of his era. Nobody can deny that he has been dominant from 2004 onwards and that he has a winning record over every player in the world.
Morten Frost It is less controversial. How does Morten Frost compare to LD in terms of greatness? According to Wikipedia: Morten Frost was at one time arguably the greatest badminton player in the world. He spent twelve years in the top three of the world rankings. Also by Wikipedia: Lin Dan is currently the dominant singles badminton player on the world stage. LD stayed in top 3 WR less than 12 years (LD is not WR #1 as of 2009-3-16, so using WR#1 as the criteria may not favor LD either). If you use major titles, Frost won 4 AE, 2 WC, 2 European Championship. There was no Olympic badminton at his time so he couldn't win. Excluding OG, LD matched Frost but didn't exceed him in terms of major titles. So it depends which criteria you choose. I'd agree to the statement 'LD has the best winning record from 2004-2009'. 'best' is simply too loaded. 'in human history'? Human history, and badminton history, will continue for another thousands of years (at least I hope) and it's too early to say LD will have better winning record than all players in the future.
Watch SO photo of LD facial expression after he lost to LCW. If LD is not motivated, why was he frustrated/upset?
Wait, Lin Dan is not done yet. We can say he is hitherto a runaway favourite for the best MS player of all time. He still can play for another 3-4 years. Another olympics, 3XAE titles, 3XWCs and countless Superseries titles are not out of the question to add to this trophy room. Not to mention, Thomas cups and Sudirman cups. So far, no one other than Lee Chong Wei, occasionally Bao or Chen Jin might upset him. No new all-star caliber young gun has emerged from the ranks yet to challange Lin Dan. Zhang Ning for example, is the only person to win back to back olympic gold. Something for Lin Dan to break or equal, male or female.
relax mettayodi, the wiki isn't the bible, it's isn't words of god. The difference is mostly how zealous each author is. Maybe author of LD's wiki is more humble. U know what? LD career isn't over yet. Sure there isn't OG in Morten's days but it is believed by many that LD had gifted Chen Jin the 2008 AE so CJ can qualifer for the OG. If u count that AE too, then LD basically matched MF record and LD is still making hay.
Hi Mettatogi: Frost has never won any World Championships, he was only runner-up twice if I remember correctly !
I have watched Morten Frost play many times; and frankly I always thought he was a rather dull player despite his many titles. Another equally dull player like Frost was Ardy Wiranata. I will take LD and LCW any time over the above two, simply because they are streets ahead of Frost and Ardy.
Dull players? Morten Frost & Ardy Wiranata? I don't know if you are confusing dull with methodical. So what exactly would have made these great players not dull? Should they have thrown tantrums? Should they have peeled off their shirts? Should they have modelled for products? Should they have worn bling and collars? Should they have dived to retrieve every smash? Should they have ranted and raved on and off the court? Should they have made Chaplinesque faces for line-calls they didn't like? Should they have thrown a racquet or, perhaps, a punch at a coach? Would any or all of these have made them less dull or not dull at all? If being 'dull' will help someone win the All England Open four times, what Lee Chong Wei and Taufik Hidayat shoud immediately do is be as dull as can be
I would repeat my argument. Facts: 1. PG today is definitely not as good as (in particular, slower than) he was in 1998-99. 2. Sun Jun in 1997 is around the same level as PG in 1998-99. 3. ZJH in 1997 is definitely not as good as (in particular, slower than) he was in 1990. 4. In 1997, ZJH could still match Sun Jun (disregarding stamina of course). This means ZJH had no problem playing the pace of the game of 1997's badminton. Conclusion: There is no way PG in 2009 can easily beat ZJH in 1990.
You can't determine ZJH is better than PG based on the result of 1 game. Hint you can't say LCW is definitely better than LD based on a result of 1 game. More importantly, Player A > Player B Player B > Player C is != (not equal) player A > Player C And your so call fact, is just your own opinion. European player tend to peak at later age and I think today's Gade is actually better than he was in 1999, at least in the 2004-2006 period. Again, I urge you to watch the video I posted instead of linking unrelated match result to a conclusion. The pace of today's badminton would write off ZJH. It is not ZJH fault that the standard of badminton is not as fast in the old days, while Gade is improving and adopted it over the course of years. Let's face it, power and speed is a big part of badminton and that's why you don't see 40 years old folks compete in the professional circuit. And power and speed is an OBVIOUS advantage of today's player when compare to the old.
It is a fact that power and speed are important components of badminton - is not new concept as the Chinese players of the 60s already incorporated it in their game; Tang Xinfu is an example. Today's Lin Dan playing resembles more of Tang's play in his prime. In my opinion, technique is very important to enable one to take full advantage of the power and speed on court. Without comparing players of past and present, we can watch matches: Lin Dan vs Taufik in WC; Xia vs Hendrawan; Gade vs Hendrawan; if you like older matches - Kristen Larsen vs Zheng Yuli; Yang Yang vs Sugiarto.
