to think a player can transition from singles to doubles easily is to not understand the difference in speed and kinesthetics between the two events. agreed.
I think you underestimate doubles play. Whilst there's some cross over in techniques, very few singles players have successfully made the switch after their mid twenties.
It seems that there's nothing to chat about these two players until the Olympics or one of them retires. It's not possible for them to play doubles, MD or XD. Too late and also not easy even if they were much younger as Cheung have said. And how to find a good partner who is willing to sacrifice his best years with someone who is at the retirement age?
Similar to what I said in pt 6 post #8912 above: 6) As Li Yongbo has instilled in him several times, Lin Dan owes everything he is and has to badminton, outside of it he is just an ordinary person and (will) fade into obscurity - an important realization, an undeniable fact to him;
Obviously, both Lin Dan and LCW realized they need each other to carry on playing for as long as possible, and by their supposed prolonged rivalry they will continue to ride on their popularity and appeal. I'm sure they are smart enough to reap the rewards and milk the international badminton system and their respective MA for as much and as long as possible. As for milking the MA, LCW has much more to gain from BAM than Lin Dan from CBA, obviously, without any elaboration. Clearly, either one alone won't have the same impact. Blame the younger generation, Chen Long et al for not being able to succeed either Lin Dan and/or LCW, none of them is able to command the same level of respect , just not of the same stature. Even so, I must say, 3 and 1/2 years before Tokyo 2020 is a long time in badminton terms, unforeseen circumstances, unexpected developments, unknown factors arising, anything can happen along the way. For these two players in their twilight years, I'd humbly advise we take it one year at a time, if not month by month.
Well, as long as Lin Dan and/or LCW is or are around, we will have no lack of things to chat about them. I mean, how many active players in the circuit have a thread of their own or do we show an interest in ? It's only when they finally retire that interests in them would gradually die down as they sink into oblivion, remaining as topics for reminiscence years later, in the future, or when something newsworthy emerges about them.
When Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade retired, everybody missed them. But we still had Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei playing on which kind of helped to alleviate the sadness of seeing Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade retire. When Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei retires, there is nobody else out there that is going to help in alleviating the sadness... for a long time to come.
"No! Don't change the shuttle. I may lose the entire match because of it." "Umpire! She just screamed with her newly painted nails pointing towards me"....."Umpire, that's because she howled one too many times on my unforced errors."
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarghlgharghlarghl!!!!! I can't believe I won a point off a service error! I am the best! Everybody in the venue, f*** your ears and sanity, I will shriek with abandon!" - WC&OG medalist, every match
I dont know. Dont really care either, it's annoying and not exactly great conduct either way. If I dont enjoy watching a player because of their badminton, I can just choose not to watch them or focus on their opponent when they're playing. When she-who-shall-not-be-named is in the venue, you dont have that option, everyone gets bombarded with those shrieks, if they're watching or not. The haughty stares and constant delays dont help making her more likeable either. I mean she can do whatever the Umpires let her get away with, I guess, but I really had to laugh when she got a double red at the German Open and instantly cried like a baby
WS beyond Marin,Sindhu,Intanon,Tai Tzu is as flat as Chapatti. All of them seem inspired by Guru Tommy Sugiarto.
Asian Championships name list Men Singles: Chen Long, 、Lin Dan、Tian Houwei 、Shi Yuqi Women Singles: Sun Yu、Li Xuerui、He Bingjiao、Chen Yufei Seems like Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan will partner once more
Ah!, Nehwal hasn't been fit for almost 2 years. And there is less struggle on South China Sea than in Japanese WS matches.
Both MS and WS are blue riband(ribbon) events for the majority of us, I believe, how can we do without either one to arouse our interest ? As it is , there are three doubles disciplines and only two singles. For MS, if we want quality of the highest order of magnitude, the most sought-after and much-awaited face-off, the kind that can keep spectators and home viewers riveted to their seats and glued to the screens, then look no further than the two living legends, Lin Dan and Lee CW - their star power is still second to none despite their supposed waning years. As badminton fans, let's count our blessings these two great maestros are still around and haven't really lost much of their mojos and truly able to give all and sundry ranging from the young guns to the old hands a run for their money, and,I hasten to add, that's an understatement. You may regard Lin Dan and Lee CW as golden oldies, if you like, but they are certainly not has-beens. The legends live on !
From MS to MD, yes, it's an entirely different game. But moving from MS to XD is not at all impossible, and several players have done so, Joachim Fischer comes to mind immediately ;-) I think the biggest obstacle moving from MS to XD is your own mind set. MS players rarely think highly of other disciplines, and cannot see themselves working their ass off to become accomplished doubles players. They are more individualists. Cheers, FB
LXR was a successful Women's Doubles player before joining the national squad. She won the bronze medal in WD at the 2009 National Games of China along with Pan Pan. In the semi-final, LXR/Pan Pan lost to YY/Du Jing, who were the reigning Olympic champions. YY/Du Jing eventually defeated ZYL/WXL in the final. Needless to say, Chinese Women's Doubles dominated the world in 2008/2009. Winning a medal in WD at 2009 Nationals Games of China was not easy.
