Just watched TH vs LCW Very much surprised by TH's performance. He forced LCW to play at maximum speed even when he himself can only afford to walk around. I would say their next meeting is 50:50.
if all the preparation for the AE only get to beat PG, then he needed 8+ months training to get pass the SF. Under Mulyo regiment training, club dancing is constitute stamina training
Dom-di-dom.. (okay, i'm gonna blame ye333 and cooler for making me post, again).. ..oh yeah, he did reach the Macau Open GP Gold tourney last yr, didn't he? And oh, he won it too...But what happened since?? Or were the opponents much tougher in these 2 tourneys??.. . ..were you surprised by the result??.. ..i thought he does that in every tourney he participates in??..
I don't know about his peak 4-5 years ago...But the fact is TH has not lost his magical touch.When much younger, he may peak because of the physical attributes of youth;when older, the physical loss may be compensated by maturity advantages like experience and wisdom.That's why 5, 10 years later, the top players are still those who are 25+ years old. TH going independent is the best thing happening to him (and badminton).Because he has real bills to pay, he has to work and because his pay depends on how far he goes in a tournament, his motivation will be high to win every match.This means he will play every SS and some non-SS tourneys.His physical conditioning will improve through competing regularly to compensate for his gym-phobia.See, now he can lasts 3 consecutive 1-hour matches without calling for madbad's ambulance.Two years ago,his Cinderella time was 45 mins.Now it's 60+ mins.This is sheer progress and indication that TH can still upset LCW and LD in finals. But what I like most about TH is how majestic he looks on court.His body language,his 'anything you want to make you feel comfortable' attitude to his opponents; they can take their time to serve or get ready,he adapts to their pace so there's no time gap to make his opponents look awkward.No way is he gonna win a match LYB style. He would rather lose with honour than win without honour(we are talking about now).Such is the regal aura about him. It'll be great to see a LCW-TH final in India Open.The crowd will definitely be behind TH and it will be good training for LCW to play with the crowd against him.
I think TH has still got a life if he commits more to training. I am pretty sure he needs to do more if he wants to beat LCW, who is one ball of mucscle
Let's have another look at TH and LCW again at the 2009 India Open . At the 2009 Swiss Open, we have to realise that TH lost to LCW by a mere 2 points. And LCW went on to defeat LD at the Finals. Wouldn't it be great if TH could have defeated LCW, and then continued on to win that title? Yes, let's have another look at TH and LCW again at the 2009 India Open: click here .
Well.. ..(okay, i'm blaming pjswift, X Ball and chris@ccc for making my fingers itch and post, again).. Okay, to the 3 posters, just above, so the question now is: Were you suprised at Taufik's results (in both AE & Swiss Open)? If Gade can still wing it and win SS tourneys at his age, then why can't a younger Taufik do it??..Both are married and have a kid.. If Taufik still has the aura, "magical touch", then bring them and go win a tourney or a Super Series...can we see nothing short of a title??.. Go & win the India Open Gold GP, if he can..
First, TH's opponents in Macau Open are definitely weaker than his opponents in Swiss. For example, KBH is obviously weaker than GWJ. Second, what happened since is that TH has been performing pretty consistently. He is definitely weaker than LD/LCW but at the same level as other top 10 players. And his record after OG is consistent with this. Third, let's come to what surprised me. Note that the LCW in Macau Open is the depressed LCW, without speed, while the LCW in Swiss is in very good form, similar to the LCW in Super Series Final. So what surprised me are 1. In the first game, TH could totally match LCW's speed. He showed agility and fast reaction rarely seen in his games after 2006. That's why I thought he has indeed trained. 2. In the second game, when TH was tired, he was still able to force LCW to play at full speed in a large part of the game. (This is very important, as then LCW will have to slow down a bit in part of the 3rd game before he can up the pace again) 3. In the third game, TH still had enough stamina. Before watching this match, I thought TH dragged LCW to 3 games simply because LCW didn't want to be mentally exhausted. Now you see why I was surprised.
^^Okay..^^ ..(i haven't watched the match, but i trust kwun's half-watching-half-working review of what he saw in TH vs. LCW's QF match).. now, back to the question: What was the scoreline?.. Were you surprised at the result (that Taufik lost)?..
Of course I am not surprised by the result as I have been holding the view that currently TH is half level down from LD/LCW. In particular he usually could not keep up with them when LD/LCW up the pace. As a result, we often see LD/LCW easily won many points in a row against TH. I was surprised because TH played much better than I expected. In particular, I was surprised by the fact that TH can match LCW's speed in game 1.
TH has come back to be at the same level as the World's No.1 and 2 . ye333 ... Agree with what you have posted. It's clear to see that TH is now fitter. It's clear to say that TH is more prepared this time, for this 2009 German/AE/Swiss series of tournaments. Unfortunately, LCW was in top form at this 2009 Swiss Open. I would say that; If LCW were to play with just 1% less than how he had played, TH would have defeated him. So it was unlucky for TH that LCW was in top form. Otherwise, TH would be the one to face LD at the Finals. And perhaps able to win the 2009 Swiss Open MS title. TH has come back to be at the same level as the World's No.1 and 2. .
I would not say "has"... But if TH keeps reasonable fitness level, he will definitely hold an upper hand against any other player except LD and LCW. In other words, I think he will soon become the de facto World No. 3.
