I doubt people know about him in India too. Its time for the hyperactive media to go all ga ga. I'd be disappointed if they don't do so. After all its not Saina or Sindhu. Srikanth deserves the recognition.
Thanks.. Even i love to watch Juan gu more in the coming tournaments. She made an excellent display in this tournament by beating Saina Nehwal. I wish her to display such a kind of improvements even against chinese players as well. What do you say??
He was Thailand's badminton superstar and current President of the Thailand Badminton Association, Professor Chareon Wattanasin (sorry if I spelt wrongly) I think. A man determined to bring back his former glory days for badminton in his country, we now see the fruits of his labour, particularly in the women's department.
Srikanth K (S13) sprang a big surprise by beating Boonsak Ponsana (S1) in straight games 21-16, 21-12. He was an unknown entity prior to this break-through. To be fair to him he had beaten all his opponents in the previous 5 matches in straight games before reaching the final and he must have something up his sleeve to achieve the feats. I wonder what other Indian players of similar capability has P Gopichand churned out in his academy. Congratulations Srikanth K, on your win.
Is this Nandagopal? He is now at XD Final Maldives IC with Maneesha which probably also his sister. Well, good for IND
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Yep.. He is the one. He is also playing Men's doubles in some tournaments. But i don't have idea about K.Maneesha(Sister??)..
Comparing GJ with Srikanth, I think there is a big gulf between them. Srikanth is young and strong, good speed and coverage, full of confidence. Every time I see GJ play, I'm saddened by her lack of confidence or an impression of it. She still looks indecisive on court and lack maturity expected of one her age and experience. Most of all is her reluctance to smash. Either she thinks she lacks power or just afraid to make mistakes. Most would agree that a good smash is not only a great attacking shot but also a good form of defense. Srikanth used it against the slower Boonsak to great effect and often scored points with it. GJ does not realize that she too has a good smash whenever she is confident enough to use it. Power is but one ingredient of a great smash, the other is placement which GJ has in great abundance. GJ's saving grace is her soft touch and deception. It is time she injects more power and more speed into her game.
On the contrary, I was not expecting him to win, at all. I was only expecting him to pull off a set at max and give some tough fight as Boonsak seemed to be in good touch lately dropping only a set till the final of course and looking at the way he dispatched others. This observation is based on the stats in TS coz there was no streaming available online. He sure surprised a lot of people here looking at the way people are responding to his win including me.
I totally disagree with you in this. Juan Gu has improved multifolds in recent months. I have seen her smashes but not quite often. She has a good deception and good respect to her coaches. That is first and foremost to a player. I like that character. She listens carefully to her coaches. She has to use her smashes very often so that she can agitate the opponent and let her opponent to do mistakes more often. We are very eager to watch more and more different flags in top 10 WS.
Good observation Loh, thanks for pointing it out and putting it in right words. I saw her play couple of times before. She certainly seems to lack confidence in her overall game. Players usually find a way to to reach top. at least for a short while, without being perfect until everyone else figures out their weaknesses. She despite having talent and good game is not able to make it count. She is definitely top 20 material.
Thanks, Loh! I believe it is the same gentleman who gave some very fiesty interviews at the LOG last year as well; he is apparently a very respected figure in world badminton circles.
Not to take away from Sri's fantastic achievement and consistent performance right through the week.... I didn't manage to watch any of the actual match, but tuned it a little before the prize ceremony. After which, the channel showed a brief montage of shots from the match; it appeared to me that Boonsak was way off his mark, making too many unforced errors and that his net play was all shot -in stark contrast to the Boonsak who was playing such sublime badminton recently.
Meanwhle, SBC/YYS take the MD title in 3 games. As expected, really, and it was very heartening to see the Russian giants justify their seeding by making the finals where they were very much in with a chance.
Of course GJ has improved, particularly in her fitness and shot-making but this is not enough to be a champion. A champion must have the confidence to believe in himself/herself, such an intangible mental asset which I find lacking in GJ. She must remain focused and not be distracted, another of her failures. She must use the strongest shot when attacking and not use clears most of the time to allow the opponent to counter-attack. If GJ can show me all these then I'll say she has arrived. Not otherwise as of now. So she has to be more serious as a professional, train harder and improve further especially on these factors that I have mentioned, otherwise she will remain another has-been.
I would like to see her matches in Indonesian open. Especially Round 16. She is facing Minatsu mitani in R32. Then if she clears, she will meet Wang Yihan. I would like her to win yihan. So, she need to discuss with her coaches about yihan's weaknesses from now itself to secure a win. She is capable of doing it.
