Paris 2024 Olympics Knock-out Stage, 4 August 2024

Where dus Lee Yang said the he is retiring??

 

I meant they would both get similar financial compensation, so i wasnt sure if thats the issue but regardless who knows, maybe one already was more well to do prior..

 

that's one way to look at it. another way is "hey, you know what it takes to qualify for the olympics, so play your way to a higher ranking during the qualification period." every gold medalist has earned it. do you recall any gold medalist being an accidental unworthy low ranked winner?

eventually you still have to go through the best of the best to win it all. in a normal top tier tournament, you only have to play, and beat, 5 opponents to win it all. in the olympics it was 6 to 7 depending on your pool size. however, as an example, a #4 seed playing a low tier badminton country opponent in pool play is really no different than playing a #32 ranked player in a wt 750/1000. how often will the top 4 seeds lose to a 24th to 32nd ranked player in the 1st round of a wt 500/750/1000?

in either case the cream rises to the top at the quarter final level. with pool play you may have to play the same opponent again in the knockout stage and you might lose a revenge match, which is an added twist and could make things harder.

 

He already announced it prior to the olympics and again during their post match interview. He dint say why though, but at least he is ending on a high note.

 

I am more a player than a fan, but I follow most of the higher tier tournaments.

Whenever people comment that a certain player or pair deserved it more than another, even though they lost, I just have to imagine they haven't played in a competitive setting themselves.

Badminton is such an amazing sport because there are so many different ways to win. You can be worse than your opponent at many things, but if you can make the game be about the things you are better at, then you can win.

I think the Olympics, with the immense pressure that exists, makes the ability to hold your nerve and be mentally strong be a more important component of someone's game, compared to just regular tournaments. Some people might say that the chinese pair is the better pair, but they just couldn't handle the pressure. However, the ability to deal with the pressure is part of someone's game. It is not something external to the badminton itself.

The taiwanese pair won because they held their nerve better than the chinese pair. People can say that the chinese pair is more consistent on the regular calendar, but on the regular calendar there is less pressure than in the Olympics. It takes the mental strength and mindset of a champion to win at the Olympics. And that is why the taiwanese pair deserved it more than anyone else.

It's also why the danes didn't deserve to win bronze. The malaysian come back in game 2 was really just a bunch of mistakes from the danes; hardly hard-fought rallies. That is why the malaysians deserved to win, because they were better in the moments that mattered most.

 

...which is why you make so much sense.

which 'consistently dominant' player/pairs never medaled in a wc or og? kevin & marcus immediately come to mind.

 

Ahh thats sad for badminton....

 

I'd call the 2 personalities the competitor (who I can't stand, and who I'm glad didn't win anything) and the person/athlete instead (who I feel immensely sorry for, going through so many big injuries must be hell).
Small tangent: my reason for that is that I know several people who have a complete change in personality when it's about winning (I'm not sure if I fall into that category, but it's possible). Some of them are really nice people when you're talking to them, or even training with them, but they can transform into real pieces of work as soon as the competition starts. Some will go as far as to openly deceive (lie about line calls etc), some will simply be so bent on winning they honestly start seeing shuttles out that aren't (or vice versa). Fair play and even just politeness often get thrown under the bus as a result. However, with most of these people it's just about the actual competition. Even in training, they'll be very different.

The competitor Marin is some of the worst we've seen, up there with KSS - no respect, no humility, constantly getting away with pushing the boundaries of the rules and just decent behavior on court.
The person is actually almost likeable - there were some interviews which made even me see her side of things a little (she had to sacrifice a lot to get where she is, and compared to almost all other ranking competitors, has way less support and resources).

But yeah, the general sentiment I agree with 100%. She's done some really crappy things, and this does indeed feel like a bit of karma.

 

I don't think Marin has any years with that injury history and her reliance on physicality.
PVS is probably going to continue raking in money and living the enchanted life of a true star - but given what I've heard about her attitude and professionalism recently, I don't see any chances of her becoming relevant again in terms of winning titles.

Given that they're mostly where they're at because of Wang's exceptional abilities AND that Liang has sh*t the bed (pardon my french) hard on multiple occasions, I don't think he can throw stones at all.

Nobody will seriously call them the GOAT because they've won almost nothing outside the OGs. They were (apparently and sadly, I didn't think they'd retire so young) a good pair with great peaks, no doubt, but their complete lack of sustained, consistent success disqualifies them from that discussion.
One of the great performers under pressure though, it seems

They really played themselves into a rush, that comeback in G2 was insane, and they laid the foundation for the win by getting that big lead in G3 as well.
Not to take anything away from them, but Astrup played shockingly from match point until ~the G3 interval. He started making amends by staying cool during their comeback attempt, but ultimately made the match-deciding error in bitterly fitting fashion. Too bad, I really would've liked them to take a medal here, there's almost no chance they're even still around in 2028, let alone qualifying and competing for a medal.

 

As said, in Olympics, it's every 4 years once. So, the weight on winning this tournament is immense.

World championship is a yearly phenomena. Even a player like lky can with it without winning any s500 above after 3 years. I think the wc council shd have a rule where they will revoke the medal if they don't win at least a s500 tournament after 1 year or 2 at most. Fair ask? This is incredible. Lol

I hope there's no such player who will win an Olympic medal and doesn't win a s500 at least in The future. Else the credibility of this prestigious game will be gone. In 1 or 2 years at least after winning a wc or og. Lol

 

your idea is not crazy at all.

other ideas could be something like substitute the req. of winning a wt500 level for maintaining a top 10 ranking for 2 years.

realistically though, how can you strip someone of something they actually accomplished? anyone can hit lightning in a bottle for a 7-10 day stretch. in the long run your ranking and legacy will automatically suffer if you're a one-hit wonder.

 

All this shows to me is that robust competition formats are important. A robust format strongly reduces the likelihood of one-hit wonders and big upsets (i.e. not just one match, but someone completely unexpected winning just one of these big competitions and doing nothing else before or after).

With 3 WCs taking place every Olympiad, I don't think at all that it's meaningless.
Revoking titles because you failed to produce more titles is a ridiculous idea imo - there are tons of factors that can influence performance after these big events.
The ranking is already skewed towards winning titles and bigger tournaments. It should not contain further criteria like titles won or sth, in theory this could lead to empty Top5s/Top10s (unlikely, but still) - its unfeasible.
I like ELO systems, this would be the only alternative I'd ever consider. [ I'd be a huge fan if they were used for league competition as well like table tennis is doing it - at least in Germany. ]

 

Don't know what match you watched but only one player gifted away the 2 G3 challenges on frivolous points, and Wang scored them more points in G3 than Liang.
Overall, if they're actually great players they'll analyze the reasons for their loss here and move on, and not hold grudges against their partner. Wang made more (seemingly) easy errors in the first games, but Liang made a few more crucial mistakes in the third (such as his challenges, especially the first one, or a few tactical mistakes later on which put them on defence). Again, towards the end, the old dynamics resurfaced - Wang got better when the pressure mounted (moving faster, making decisive points and good decisions), whereas Liang got nervous.

That's not to say Wang should be mad or Liang lost them the match - I just find it ridiculous to point at Wang as the main reason for why they lost. Both made mistakes, both won them points, both had their peaks and valleys throughout the match. From watching it once, I thought Wang was the better player when it counted in G3.

 

No one caused anyone to lose the match. The Olympic champions were just too good this tournament. They literally beat all the top pairs, dont forget they were in the group of death.

 

They should introduced Team Event in Badminton Olympic as well. 40-40 is a sorcery after CHN got 2 reduced quotas in Weightlifting.

 

After successfully defending their Olympic title at the Paris Olympics in 2024. I would think I am as good as I can get and call it. I think they just want to enjoy life a little more

 

I totally agree with you! It's unfair to pin the loss on one player when both made mistakes and had their moments of brilliance. Wang did step up her game in the third, but Liang's challenges and tactical errors were costly too. Let's give credit where it's due and acknowledge that both players had their strengths and weaknesses in this match.