If i remember it correctly, i think i read in LD's thread few months ago that people congratulate Mr. & Mrs. Lin for XXF's pregnancy, no?
First encounter between Sun Yu and Ratchanok Intanon: [video=youtube;TUULdLfcb3E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUULdLfcb3E[/video] In terms of international competitive experience, Sun Yu is much younger than her younger opponents. Sun Yu's game is still incomplete at this point. She has another crack at AO next week and then there will be a long break for her to work on her game.
Maybe this isn't all that bad for Sun Yu. Hopefully, she is just laying low (just like LXR before 2012) until the time comes.
Next week at the AUS Open in R1 is another hurdle, she is up against the resurgent Saina. Hope Sun Yu redeems herself and boost her confidence by overcoming Saina.
Given her giant frame, she has to build up her over strength gradually to avoid early injuries and premature burnout. There is no hurry now. She is not going to Rio. She should set her sight on the post-Rio period when a group of top players will retire or ease out. She must seize that opportunity to be among the top players then.
Although LYB can only send two girls to play in WS for Rio, don't write off Sun Yu this early. Remember back in late 2011 and early 2012, no one thought LXR could win the London Olympics.
I'm more ambitious for her, perhaps you'd say unrealistic but LXR has set the precedent - at age 19 she beat Saina en route to winning the BAC 2010, by the age of 21 she was in the ascendant culminating in the Olympic Gold and today she is still dominant and bound for greater heights. As such, I make bold to wish for Sun Yu to rise quickly and join LXR at the top to conquer the badminton world together. May my wish come true, the sooner the better.
More than four months after her first round loss at the Australian Open, Sun Yu finally got the chance to play again! She will also be busy playing the next three tournaments in FuZhou, Hong Kong and Macao. It's either famine or feast for Sun Yu. At Bitburger Open, Sun Yu played a steady, if not spectacular, game to overcome a variety of opponents. In the semi-final match against the World Champion, Sun Yu was a model of calmness, contrasting to a boiled over Carolina Marin. The race to Tokyo between Sun Yu and He BingJiao is now on. It would be very interesting to watch these two in the years to come. Bitburger Open Final: Sun Yu vs He BingJiao [video=youtube;vEaEN5_nOMk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEaEN5_nOMk&list=UUhh-akEbUM8_6ghGVnJd6cQ[/video] Bitburger Open Semi-Final: Sun Yu vs Carolina Marin [video=youtube;8vl_6-WuANQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vl_6-WuANQ&index=9&list=UUhh-akEbUM8_6ghGVnJd6cQ[/video]
Sun Yu lost to Akane Yamaguchi in the quarter-finals at the China Open. After the match, Sun Yu talked about AK: http://sports.sina.com.cn/o/2014-11-14/21077409870.shtml At this point, Sun Yu is still an unfinished product. She needs to get stronger to have more stings in her attack to break stalemates when playing against someone like AK.
Sun Yu seems a very talented player. And her comments about Akana Yamaguchi demonstrate that she is a very gracious player, as well. Admiring her more and more.
Sun Yu has the height and reach which she exploits to good effect but I feel she's not moving fast enough. I hope she can improve her speed of movement and shot-making, it certainly helps if she learns to read her opponent's game better to anticipate their shots more. That's why she needs to play in more tournaments to gain the experience and maturity for it. The 3-yr younger Akane Y is already a regular feature in the senior international circuit, playing more tourneys than Sun Yu.
Definitely right Justin. Speed of movement is a weakness. Against fast players who can hit fast shots to the front court, she is going to difficulty.
Sun Yu may not get any faster. But hopefully she can get quicker on her first steps and turns. She is still waiting for her power to develop and integrate that with her height advantage. There are so many grinders in WS. Sun Yu shouldn't try to out-grind those smaller, faster players. Instead, she should be more alert to attacking opportunities. What she needs in the near term is better tactical awareness and higher quality shots (i.e. better height and length control) to put pressure on her opponents. Sun Yu is among a large group of second tier hopefuls seeking to break into the first tier. Remember that she is only 20 years old, her time is yet to come. Sun Yu should just bite her time and develop her body and game gradually for the post-Rio era.
got this from Cheung's HK Open photo thread.. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...ng-Kong-Open?p=2294883&viewfull=1#post2294883
[video=youtube;tudRPyJSERk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tudRPyJSERk&list=PL0qOoxVup5gyuWMEVuTo9Y6q QGY8-nO22&index=84[/video]
2014 Swiss Open Badminton: WS Final - WANG Yihan (CHN) vs SUN Yu (CHN) [video=youtube;Kl6GWIFUxDQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl6GWIFUxDQ[/video]
