Obviously Germany did their homework and came out with intent. It's great to see the European mixed team champions show it was no one-off, although I must say, MAS team didn't really inspire any confidence...
Indonesia has bad luck..but the show must go on... btw, credit to Birgit..unbelievable..she played about 12 games Fuchs Michael Michels Birgit-CHINESE TAIPEI Lu Ching Yao Lai Chia Wen21-13 20-22 21-23 Michels Birgit Golsizewski Johanna-CHINESE TAIPEI Cheng Wen Hsing Hsieh Pei Chen21-13 16-21 19-210-1 Chan Peng Soon Goh Liu Ying-GERMANY Fuchs Michael Michels Birgit17-21 21-18 17-210-1 Woon Khe Wei Hoo Vivian Kah Mun-GERMANY Michels Birgit Golsizewski Johanna16-21 21-16 18-210-1
Very unlucky against Taipei....two matches lost in the 3rd with 2 points only....would've been incredible if Germany had placed 1st in their group. Anyhow, beating Malaysia today was -no doubt- a big achievement as well, beating the XD and WD was not easy (the MAS XD is pretty good, and the GER WD is not such a strong combination usually...). Hopefully achievements like this will bring some attention to the team/sport...
And more attention means more sponsors which means more prize money. Hopefully it can be the driving force behind badminton's rise to popularity in western countries. Also, Adidas should consider sponsoring the German team.
I really doubt that Towi/Lili might actually win on their day, but the rest of the squad wouldn't score a point against China's second team (maybe not even against the 3rd...). They have a super strong squad this year, counting in LD they could actually play with 2 teams and still end up in the final with both. Not that this kind of domination from any 1 Nation is so great for the sport....but thankfully, there's some light at the end of the tunnel (CY/FHF, LD about to retire, their XD combinations not at their best...). At least where SS tournaments are concerned.
this only shows that nothing is impossible. teams who believe and work hard can overcome odds. today we have seen it done twice. Germany beating Malaysia Japan beating Denmark
Although imop Japan vs Denmark was the expected outcome (at least for me). JOJ has had a drop in form recently while Ueda is steadily improving, and the MD was a close affair which Japan could've won. WD and WS was always gonna go Japan's, and the XD the Dane's way. Personally I'd have given both the MS and MD roughly 50-50 odds, which made it quite likely for Japan to win Getting to the Quarters at all is already a huge step for our team. Hopefully we'll get some more MD players soon who can actually succeed Ingo/Johannes (although Johannes will probably continue playing, Ingo is gonna retire soon I believe) as that's currently a pretty weak spot. TBH I was quite surprised Olga managed to win her match, but otoh I've never heard of the MAS girl...
disagree about the WD. before the match, the head-to-head was 2-1 for Denmark. the last win by the Japanese girl was 2011 in a close 3 gamer. while the win by the Danes were much more straightforward.
TBH I had expected Japan to field another WD pair, one that's higher up the ranking They have a couple, that's for sure. But maybe they didn't even bring the others....? Anyhow, before the match, I had expected a straight-game win for JP in the WD. Had I known that this particular pairing would play, I wouldn't have been so optimistic about that
Yes, I'm sure Japan have a couple of women's doubles pairs ranked higher than 2. Als, Kenichi Tago played, not Ueda. Makes you realise people are just looking at the cute faces, huh?
Just like Hayom. These 2 are like two sides of the same coin. have all the weapons, but lacking the awareness, strategy and the spirit to never die.
Well... Lyliana Natsir/Tontowi is not playing here. INA does not need to go all out vs. China in group A after already qualified to next round.
German lasses were very good today, a special mention for the 'splitter'. The disparity in standards between the traditional powerhouses in badminton and the rest is narrowing.
Agreed. Most of the Japanese WD pairs would have problems coming out victorious against Kamilla and Christinna. Seems like this Japanese pair has improved on their rotation. Previously, it had been Ayaka smashing from the baseline and Misaki waiting for the net kill. Today, Misaki was more effective from the back and Ayaka has improved her net shots. Things look to be getting only better.
Do you think INA has a better chance vs. DEN or JPN? JPN is loaded in MS, WS, WD but DEN has 4 lethal XD, MD, WD and MS compared to INA.
WHAT? This is insanely stupid.... Why countries in the same group before can play again in the QF. This is an outrage.
Just watched the video of Sayaka Takahashi's match against Line Kjaersfeldt not long ago, and noticed Sayaka looking supremely confident, almost swaggering. She must have just hit a new milestone in her play. Hope Japan can meet China in the final and see what she has to show.