The Talking Point: Air Conditioning!

I've watched that LD - LCW match four times and it somehow gives me the feeling that LCW had already given up when 19-15 down; even after the first cramp, he was struggling with himself whether to continue playing. Facing what he thought was imminent defeat, LCW's mind was in distress and it finally showed in physical manifestation in the part of his body which was subjected to most stress, the quadriceps muscles (perhaps hamstrings too).

Despite winning the next two points, one with the luck of the net cord and the other by desperate reflex action to return LD's two successive smashes from where he practically stood. Then still trailing 19-17 and having to exchange multiple shots moving around the court with LD when another twitch of his quads probably reminded him of the uphill battle at which his lack of inner belief and willpower again took over, he capitulated the point and ultimately the match.

At risk of sounding hackneyed, LCW for the nth time defeated himself yet again. Needless to say, only his nemesis Lin Dan can do that to him. In conclusion, it's my humble belief that whether the A/C was switched off or not is not the tipping point causing his defeat but that he was already mentally defeated even before the match started. This despite the fact that his two coaches would most probably have tried to instill in him the belief that this is his best chance to beat a weakened,most vulnerable LD. Saying this to him might actually both raise his hope considerably and, at the same time, increase his pressure even more - thus putting him in limbo.

Of course, the above is purely my subjective conjecture. After watching how he demolished first WZM followed by Tommy and then, somewhat unexpectedly to me, struggled with DuPY, I had a vague sense that his self-confidence took a small beating as he seemed more relieved than elated at finally overcoming DuPY after three hard-fought, bruising sets. I've asked myself this question:if LCW didn't cramp, would he have won the match? I was sure he would after he took G1 but G2 changed all that...well, I'm sure more people than not will unhesitatingly answer in the negative.
 
There is this pattern in LCW’s defeats by LD in the more recent major tournaments (WC2011, OG2012, WC2013), in which he took game 1 by a relative wide margin, lost game 2 by an even greater margin, then a very tight game 3.

I think what happened to LCW in game 2’s could be either one of two things:

1. A little drop in concentration, maybe a little sense of relieve, after gaining the advantage.
2. Starting to have the sense that he could really beat LD, and so put more pressure on himself.

No. 2 is more likely as you can see the same thing happened in the final points of game 3’s, when he made more unforced errors.

There is one interesting thing about LCW, which I rarely, if at all, see in other players. Sometimes, just to show his supreme confidence, when he believed the shuttle was going out, he would let it dropped behind his back without even turned to look at it.

I think it is just natural reaction, or human nature, that you would try looking at the shuttle to confirm it is out! Even LD, with his super confidence, would do that!

So, I believe LCW had to force himself not doing so, just to show his supreme confidence to his opponents. I believe that actually shows his lack of confidence. Unfortunately, more than a few times those shuttles ended up in, and LCW made a fool out of himself.
 
I am particularly impressed by LD's reflection on OG championship. The fact that people will soon forget most of those OG champions, even at that time hailed as heroes by the whole nation, is a harsh reality of most sports. And I think his pondering on "for what I am playing" may play an important role in his understanding of badminton and how he shaped/evolved his games.
 
^ No, because of the drift direction, LCW's clears would be easily in with the drift against him with AC on. With it off, his clears would go out easier.
 
It seems to me that everyone sort of won on this occasion"

LD won the match and looked liked a nice guy and good sportsman.

LCW showed great fighting spirit and his fans will blame the LYB for cheating LCW out of a straight sets win(AC scandal, drift change).

LYB and CBA still holds on to the MS single crown, which in my opinion is the most important title in terms of prestige and also they can say look the rest of the world is catching up as they only won 2 titles.

TSB and BAM can also use the AC Scandal as an excuse, and shift away attention from Malaysia again having very little impact in a WC outside of LCW.

Fans get to see LD and LCW play together again for the first time and again we see how much star power they have as people can talk about their match for 2 weeks after the event ... Amazing!
 
If there is no drift on the court, can the shuttle just change it's direction in the middle of it's normal course?

Aside from the drift, anything else can force a shuttle to move 'not normal'?
 
Should be RSC, Referee Stopped Contest or USC, Umpire Stopped Contest in the case of badminton.
I didn't see LCW retire.
 
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visor said:
^ No, because of the drift direction, LCW's clears would be easily in with the drift against him with AC on. With it off, his clears would go out easier.
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So the gist of what you're saying is, a professional player (a pretty fine one at that) doesn't possess the ability to adjust for two sets, including at least half a set of which presumably the drift is in his favour. That's some might fine excuse making.

Seriously, I'm trying to figure out whether some of you are doing Lee Chongwei a favour, or not?
 
LCW did not complain the 'AC off during the second set' was the reason he lost and he credited LD for winning. Whether the AC deliberately shut off, slow cocks are used, CL gave WO to LD, DPY tired out LCW the night before...the fact was LD was on a sabatical honeymoon after OLY12 and he played only 1 tourney and even then retired, trained for 2 months for WC12, cramps in his leg during training, changed his playing style from run-and-gun to rally, played as wild card with the expectation before the draw was made he would be playing the top players all the way to the final, that is perhaps the biggest handicap/advantage LD gave to all players including LCW, and that man still won his 5th...what more to say?
 
bad's fan said:
If there is no drift on the court, can the shuttle just change it's direction in the middle of it's normal course?

Aside from the drift, anything else can force a shuttle to move 'not normal'?
Click to expand...

the only thing i can think of is a way to slice the shuttle, mostly an overhead shot, in which you cause the shuttle to rotate counter clockwise, then in mid flight, the shuttle will stop rotation momentarily, then reverse the direction of spin back to clockwise which is how it's deside to fly. when you use this in a drop shot it is quite effective. :)
 
OneToughBirdie said:
LCW did not complain the 'AC off during the second set' was the reason he lost and he credited LD for winning. Whether the AC deliberately shut off, slow cocks are used, CL gave WO to LD, DPY tired out LCW the night before...the fact was LD was on a sabatical honeymoon after OLY12 and he played only 1 tourney and even then retired, trained for 2 months for WC12, cramps in his leg during training, changed his playing style from run-and-gun to rally, played as wild card with the expectation before the draw was made he would be playing the top players all the way to the final, that is perhaps the biggest handicap/advantage LD gave to all players including LCW, and that man still won his 5th...what more to say?
Click to expand...

Completely agree.

This was the best chance LCW had to clinch a WC title... and he knows it. This and OG final match will forever always haunt him and will undoubtedly affect his future matches against LD.
 
visor said:
Completely agree.

This was the best chance LCW had to clinch a WC title... and he knows it. This and OG final match will forever always haunt him and will undoubtedly affect his future matches against LD.
Click to expand...

Whether this will affect his future combat with THE LEGEND himself, time will tell, and even they meet again, what setting will it be? Is it another SS or the next major title e.g. AG14 or even CO13 (CHN players have national pride that the title cannot go to foreigners)? If it is SS, Dato is Sultan of SS, if it is majors, the LEGEND plays God, invincible;)...WC13 and OLY12, Dato knows it is so darn close, yet miles so far. It is akin to a baddy match, you standing at the net and your opponent send the birdie right at your smashing level at the net, you can see, smell and almost taste the 'BBQ pork' right there and all you need is kill the bird, but instead you hit the roast pork into the net and lost the match. That was that close. Dang!:D
 
bad's fan said:
If there is no drift on the court, can the shuttle just change it's direction in the middle of it's normal course?

Aside from the drift, anything else can force a shuttle to move 'not normal'?
Click to expand...

gundamzaku said:
the only thing i can think of is a way to slice the shuttle, mostly an overhead shot, in which you cause the shuttle to rotate counter clockwise, then in mid flight, the shuttle will stop rotation momentarily, then reverse the direction of spin back to clockwise which is how it's deside to fly. when you use this in a drop shot it is quite effective. :)
Click to expand...

Irrespective of whether there is any drift or otherwise in the hall, the shuttle can still drift or move sideways in all clear shots. This applies only to clears where the shuttle turns over (where the shuttlecock turns over to point downwards). This is called shuttle precession.
As the shuttle turns over it gyrates and then drifts towards the right as it descends. Why towards the right and not the left? This is because of the the direction the feathers overlap, which will always spin the shuttle on its axis in a counterclockwise direction as seen from the hitter.

Slicing the shuttle in mid flight will not cause any counterclockwise rotation of the shuttle. It will only attenuate the original counterclockwise spin of the shot and slows down the shuttle. Slicing is not a factor in shuttle spin. The word spin means spinning of the shuttle on its axis. Oftentimes, shuttle wobble or instability is wrongly described as shuttle spin.
 
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