Congratulation to Chong Wei and Happy Birthday. Credit must also be given to Du Pengyu for showing such a mark improvement. From the past, Du would fade away on game 3 as his legs could not hold up. Too bad there was no replay with the last point, I thought CW smash was out too but too close to call. My only hope is our Malaysian youngsters progress fast! As for KKK/TBH, I am not sure why they are still playing together, I think they have proven their capabilities/inabilities so it's time to move on and split them up and explore new combination. Is funny when I read the report from Star newspaper stated by KKK : “Last time, we used to say that we will give our best. Now, we mean it,” ... I am not surprise players said that but coaches actually buying into it just mind-boggling, show you how bright our BAM is!
Yupe, I totally agree everything that you said... The match was nail biting and I also hope to see the replay of the last shot, which I also thought that I was out. Du Pengyu is definitely a top player in the future with what he had today. As for KKK/TBH, sad to say that they were given ANOTHER chance until WC to prove themselves... again and again they were given chances but still... But at least they showed some improvements though. And this... “Last time, we used to say that we will give our best. Now, we mean it,”... I was like WHAT THE??? So previously saying all the bull**** just to please us as Msian supporters???
Congratulation LCW (and Justin). As for DuPY, that was a progress from him. He is a rare CHN MS that many INA MS confidently able to defeat. Taufik, Sony, Simon, and even Hayom and Tommy had won over him.
What a day, culminating in a exciting,thrilling,superb MS match between Lee CW and Du Pengyu! Can't get any better than that. Just when we thought the day is going to end in an anti-climax, the two protagonists gave us a memorable duel to talk about for quite some time. A match that has it all, quality, tension,surprises,amazing shots, great retrievals - can't ask for anything more. A big thank-you to Datuk Lee and Du Pengyu.
And I've to add, the Chen Long - Sony DK match was very good too. Chen Long proved he is definitely the one to seriously challenge Lin Dan and Lee CW.
Hah, you dont know the disappointment in us the Malaysian badminton fans. KKK/TBH came out so well and strong in the beginning and after getting some fame, what happen then? If they are to split, it should have been done much earlier and not now since they are not young anymore. Do you know the lifestyle of this pair especially KKK? They are not discipline in their lifestyle as compared to DLCW. Did I not mentioned that 'at least they are showing some improvements though'? Yes, they deserve some praises but they need to be more determine, work harder and shed the extra pounds too...
Not so much of blowing the golden chances to win but more so that they always lose easily and hardly made it into the finals or even semi finals... Yes, they are the leading front pair and that is the reason why I dont sing high praises to them. When they just started, they beat almost every top pairs in the world... and then years down the road, the top pairs are getting better... and what about them? Start to smoke and live unhealthy lifestyle... Am I insulting them? Hell no... I am just disappointed with them for all these years... putting my hope in them and they blew it easily. Not everyone has the gift and opportunity to be world's best... I just think that they do not appreciate their opportunity enough. Enough said...
You need to think for the long run, why the Koreans split Jung/Lee(yes, I understand Chung retired and even if he didn't, I am sure they will not be playing together) and China also bringing out the new pairs instead of relying on Fu/Cai(both also going to retire)? Players get old so it's normal to try different combination and observe the outcome prior to the next Olympics. The only reason KKK/TBH still doing well aside from being good mainly due to the transition phase from MD power houses like China, Korea and even Japan. I don't discredit what KKK/TBH have contributed to our country but I think TBH can achieve more even if he partner with some one else, certainly is not the sure thing but if you don't try then how can you find out? Is very hard to have a talented player like TBH, remember we used to have Cheah Soon Kit and still unable to win Olympics gold, you need to have 2 very good players in order to win the big one and KKK have been given so many opportunities without success so why not try different combo before is too late for Olympics? Yes, there may be setbacks during the trial period but it's part of the game which I am more than willingly to accept even if it fails than go for the same-old-same-old. The target is WC or Olympics, not the Super-series.
This tournament proves that without the Chinese participation, the Superseries is never the same, not only devalued in terms of status and recognition. Just compare it with the JPN Open where the CHN team completely pulled out. How different the atmosphere and quality.
Sadly, the Japanese ladies couldn't manage to win today. The new tactics did not work well, likely due to a lack of familiarity. I disagree with what the commentator had said, that MJ/TJH was trying to push Matsutomo to the backline. TQ/ZYL were lifting many shots yesterday, probably because Misaki was lethal at the net. It will be interesting to see if the Japanese pair reverts back to their favourite formation in the French Open, where they may get to meet MJ/TJH again. I believe that rotation of the backline smashers has been employed by some Indonesian MD players to give the big hitters some temporary rest. Tang Jinhua is a revelation. She looks like a more aggressive version of Bao Yixin.
The two final matches pushed into the limit for the winner, MD & MS, such a thrilling deciding games. Du PY gave Lee CW hard time last night, but the world #1 showed his quality to seal the match. XD category, CHN XD totally controlled third game, Towi/Liliyana were obviously fatigue.
Saina Nehwal made a break-through for her first Denmark title, easily beating Juliane Schenk who just couldn’t cope in the 2nd game, with the score of 21-17, 21-8. TBH said he was to be blamed for the MD’s loss when he executed a wrong shot at the crucial stage. He got a yellow card for smashing his racquet to vent his frustration. KKK/TBH failed again at the final hurdle of a SS tournament. LCW’s win against DPY was a welcomed gift for his 30th birthday but DPY turned out to be a tough nut to crack. LCW was tentative according to the commentators. Was it because he took DPY too lightly and celebrated a bit too early? Thankfully, LCW kept his nerve when he was trailing in the rubber game and managed to eke out the slim rubber win. The final score was 15-21, 21-12, 21-19. Congratulations and happy birthday, Dato'.
The first player to celebrate his victory in badminton court with oppa gangnam style, Yoo Yeon Seong. Photo credit to badminton photo and badzine.
I've gotta applaud one aspect of the Denmark Open. The live television and streaming was absolutely fantastic! Another thing they did was employ more commentators, and that immediately made a huge difference and brought a freshness to proceedings. (not to take away anything from The Voice ) That gave fans all over the world an insight into the issues that concern the European baddy countries, and it also gave many of us a peek into their perspective of the "China syndrome": they don't begrudge China it's dominant position; in fact they always hope to learn and adapt their approach to compete on equal terms. A big thank-you to the organisers of the Denmark Open.
Look at the bright side, atleast they beat their bogey players Lee Yong Dae and Ko Sung Hyun in the first round after losing the first game 21-8. They just need to adjust their game plan every round. Obviously what they thought would work against the Danes would work against Shin/Yoo yesterday, so they used the same game against them, but didn't work as they thought it would. They just need to keep on improving. They reached 3 finals already. This is a good sign of improvement.
Yes, I do agree that they showed improvements lately and hopefully they will continue to do even more. I have always been a fan of KKK until they start going downhill... He is fun to watch. Like the commentator said, he is one of those who can produce near impossible, entertaining and awesome shots but he needs to find the balance.
D*mn, I missed the entire final day. Congrats to all the winners. And happy birthday to Datuk. For Towi... buck up, will ya? The moment you displayed your frustration, it's the point I feel the battle was a lost cause.