Should winning be our only objective in our Olympic Games ??? . Anyway, if winning is our only objective in our Olympic Games, then the reason to hold our Olympics would be lost. .
This is beginning to resemble one of the umpteen discussions of August 2008. Could we steer this back to Kota Kinabalu and the Super Series Final?
^^Off topic-Personally..^^ ..i'd have to say the aim is for friendship, camaraderie, sportsmanships......But then of course, there come a bevy of other reasons: making money/marketing/doing advertisement.....winning medals...and making more money after an athlete wins a Gold medal..... ..agree (although i wasn't around much, in BC, during that period)..
i think this thread is getting hotter and hotter now.. lets have peace here.. or else, the mod or kwun will do something about it i believe..
That's for you & Huang to banter about, since I'm not tennis fan , I was just refering that particular post. And.. we are getting off topic since the last 2 pages. THe OG qualification, etc have been discussed numerous times in the 2008 OG threads. Same goes with the quota limit, whether 2 from top 16, or 3 from top 4, somebody didnt get to go due to the limit per country ruling, while those WR >50 got to go. How is it then top 4 is victim, top 16 dont get to go not victim? They still got effected by this rule. China XD, Xie/Zhang Yawen didnt get to go due to the 2 in top 16 rule. THey didnt make it to top 4, after slogging so hard, missed by just by 1 placing (5th). We do need to get back to this SS finals, hehe. Good to see Taufik's coming.
I believe badminton is more popular than table tennis in the world. In China, where TT has been known as the "National Ball", more and more people are becoming badminton fans, while TT's popularity is in decline (only old people and kids love to play TT). In my chinese university, undergraduate students like playing basketball and football, while postgraduate students and teachers love to play badminton. Badminton is also very popular among Chinese white collar workers. When I was studying in UK, a lot of people play badminton everyweek, it's not easy to book a court (4 courts in total) on evening sessions, while very few play TT, only one TT table. And I am very optimistic that badminton will never be kicked out of Olympics, no matter what. I think badminton is among the top 20 safe sports in OG. The sports in danger are taewondo, modern pentathlon and esquestrian(dressage).
The Olympic motto is "higher, faster, stronger". That sounds like winning to me. Some opinions in this thread may be a little extreme. They serve to balance the equally extreme opinions of the Badzine editorial. Badzine is doing a great job for badminton. However, that editorial is too one sided. Alright then, "kinder, gentler, friendlier".
They are not related to their National Association. I assume they are contracted to their team - I doubt their team would let them go either. China players are contracted to their National Association in the same way. The BWF are at fault also here as their rules stipulate that the national association must approve a player wishing to represent its country in a tournament - Thus BWF recognises that Any National associations have executive power over any player. If there was not this rule then any players who rebelled and wanted to play would be able too as they could enter themselves.
Not try to going into an off topic, but... Why NBA says no? Because they evaluate their business (players' performance and health in THEIR OWN games) over other things. So, there you go. If that organization has every rights to evaluate what's "good" or "bad" for their players, why CHN team can NOT do so?
Ok, then I want to ask, if BWF really want to see the best and the best, why SSF has limited entries per nation? If the event is setup purely to promote the sport and purely based on individual, why it limited the entries? In that way, players like BCL can not participate. If you go with current ranking, CHN should field 4 in WS, instead of 2 in SSF. Aren't they are better players? Do you just said you want to see the best? Then, why settle for the less simply because of the flags?
If I am WCH, I will be very happy, consdier now I have much better chance to compete for the grand prize, to face players like NG, or Smith, but not CJ or LD. I will be very happy with my chance to receive a nice pay check, with much less sweat. Just as some OG players. Do they curse XXF, XXZ, CY, etc, because now they have to play OG, to sweat, to be booted out of the 1st round? Or, do they laugh and cry in joy, and jumping up and down to be given a chance to perform? Note: no offense for any players listed above. I am just stating the fact that their performance level is not on the par of LD, CJ, XXF, XXZ, etc
My question is if the quota rules for the SS Finals were set when this event was conceived (someone had mentioned 2005 earlier in this thread but I can't remember), did CHN not work with the BWF towards finding an equitable solution? Right or wrong, it just paints CHN badminton in a bad light to pull this stunt this late. Regardless of their intentions, perceptions are often stronger than the truth.
You misunderstood what I'm trying to say. I was using your example of NBA players but substitute NBA with Chinese Badminton Federation. You can't even ask or let the players decide for themselves since the Federation already put their feet down and saind "NO". And no, NBA doesn't have any restriction for players to represent their country. Stern loved seeing high-flying NBA stars dominate the competition in international venue.
Ok, then I want to ask, if BWF really want to see the best and the best, why SSF has limited entries per nation? If the event is setup purely to promote the sport and purely based on individual, why it limited the entries? In that way, players like BCL can not participate. If you go with current ranking, CHN should field 4 in WS, instead of 2 in SSF. Aren't they are better players? Do you just said you want to see the best? Then, why settle for the less simply because of the flags? [/quote] The frequency of your postings you would gather enough frequency flyer miles to fly to watch a SS before you turn 31 years old I said "I want to see the best play baddy if I am to take time of to fly in to watch a game...I did not say BWF want to see the best and the best". If I am paid to work for BWF, then I will answer your question. BWF put on a show, if I pay to watch and not just free dl, I wanna see the best player play, fair demand. You are 30 yrs old, have you ever take 2 weeks vacation time, book online and gather 16 people, book cars, book hotel rooms, to go see a WC or SS, , wait in airport fly from one continent to another, organize my workload and delegate work to keep my staff busy for the next 10 days, spent 9-10 hrs a day for 7 straight days in a stadium eating burgers and coke, no time to pee just in case you miss LD or some big shot players play, eat dinner at 11.00 pm at night after game finishes in a foreign land or are you one of those free downloader sitting at home in your underwear or butt naked, scratching your butt or balls and watching/posting in computer and not caring the stadium is less than 1/2 full" Now, to top it all, what if the game results are fixed and you pay to watch a fixed game? It is a free world, you can make your choice. BWF has a tough job and i.e. to grow baddy into a mainstream sport, not an Asian sport...baddy is already the second most played (not most spectator watched or $$$ rewarding sport to play - tennis is)
The description of this post is too graphical, not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. Reader discretion & parental guidance is strongly adviced..
The perceptions are just wrong. Thanks to information such as the Badzine editorial. This is no late stunt. LYB has been consistently lukewarm to the idea. For the longest time, there was no competition to withdraw from. It did not exist. Again, I think the Chinese Team should support this event anyway. However, their no-show, while very disappointing, is not a stunt and is not totally without reasons.
Hmm..couple more sens to off-topic replies.. LazyBuddy : As pertaining to your question (post #131), it is indeed a two-way issue: How to showcase the best of the best while at the same time promote & showcase enough players from other countries? The reason BWF gave in proposing such regulation is "in a bid to bring more countries and regions into the Olympic competition." In a way their thought is "how to provide equal opportunity for all". Badminton is afterall an international sport. And as is the Olympics, BWF has to provide an avenue to promote/showcase the game and at the same time for those international players to compete. Of course, BWF would like to see "the best of the best", but at what cost, considering there are only certain amt of spots in each event? Even other events (the Doubles events) had to be sacrificed/reduced from 19 to 16 pairs to accommodate the extra Singles players. So, compromise had to be done. Perhaps BWF can arrange qualification rounds in the next Olympics to accommodate more players, but if they're to open more spots, as you suggested, how much is enough?? 5 spots? 6 spots?...And is it even feasible??..Let alone a possibility of other countries who'll complain about not having enough spots given etc.. madbad : the post you were referring to is the one all the way at the top, on the previous page.. OTB (OneToughBirdie) : sounds like you had a grand ole time during your visit to Anaheim for the 2005 WC.
OTB (OneToughBirdie) : sounds like you had a grand ole time during your visit to Anaheim for the 2005 WC.[/quote] It was a great dream SF lineup, and for those who have not watch LD or LCW play while they are still at their best, or even TH and PG even though they are not at their prime, should go. It is different than seeing on video. But really sad to see <1/2 empty stadium even on final night, especially when the admission is so darn cheap compared to say, ice hockey, football, basketball. For US$179 for 9 separate admissions, I figured it costs <US$2.50 per hour and that is cheaper than McDonald 6-piece chicken, minus the coke and fries. I am not optimistic the game will come back to North America, in my lifetime, with the dismal attendance. For those bcers who so often express admiration and worship those chinese lady players in this forum, seeing those long-legged, fair-skinned players live would fulfill many a dream
