This kid is just remarkable, she doesn't seem to have the speed, it looks like she will not be able to run and reach that far, but somehow she manages to reach and return every shot threw to her. Strange. The way she runs all over the court is kind of unique as well I am rooting for her
Yes I heard that too. But in hindsight it makes sense that "Retiring during a match shall be considered to be not completing all pool matches." Why should a player retire if he/she feels the injury is not serious, like CL incurring a scrape on his finger, or if a spray can cure some overused, tired muscles. The probability of a player recovering the very next day from a "serious" injury must be quite remote. Even in the case of Ahsan, who must have been injured for some time since he did not show up for the Axiata Cup, his appearance in this SSF revealed that he can barely move, then how can he give a good fight to his opponents? If he is allowed to continue to play in his next match, he is unlikely to perform any better and his injury may get worse. Then it will be merely a waste of time and resources for the organisers.
Day 1 produced some exciting and surprising results. But the biggest upset of the day must be lowly ranked AY (WR17) defeating WYH (3) in 3 games. Indeed the ROW has caught up with CHN in WS. How? Apart from WYH, another top Chinese WSX (2) has also been scalped by India's SN (4). So two of China's top WS have been beaten but I'm sure they will wake up and do better today. World No.1 LXR was unfortunately absent due to a foot injury, but one can never be sure if she could win since she lost the WC crown twice to lower ranked players. The second surprise is in MS when DEN's HKV (12) defeated KOR's SWH (4) convincingly in straight games of 21-13, 21-16. To think that both AY and HKV are replacements! Indeed they have proven their worth in the selection. The third is the defeat of INA's XD pair of TA/LN (4) at the hands of CHN's LC/BYX (8) 21-10, 12-21, 21-15. INA was perhaps the most unlucky with the double retirements in both doubles, WD and MD, when the WD should have won in straight games against JPN. Then Tommy Sugiarto lost to JOJ in MS and of course the surprise loss in XD. So INA lost every one of their 4 matches. TS and TA/LN must now pull up their socks to regain some pride for INA. Sadly they cannot count on the doubles any more.
Yesterday, in that match btn AY vs WYH, AY was just playing without much attack, and more of a passive game, and WYH was also bit reluctant to attack... And I remember, that AY was retrieving all the shots that were given to her, to frustrate WYH.. And AY made sure to keep WYH at the base line, with long & high clears (straight & cross-court).. Most of the time, these clears were given with a bit of disguise which made WYH scrambling, to stop and reach back to the base-line. At the third game, it was all AY, and in one stage she was 18-9 lead.. And WYH looked so tired, and AY looked fresh, with more speed (I think AY increased her speed in the 3rd game) . AY now has +ve head-to-head tally for both WYH & WSX, which is a good record to have, considering how dominant the top 3 are in WS circuit..
The demand on WD seems to have heightened as in the case of yesterday's INA vs JPN match, which took a toll on INA in the end and resulting in INA having to concede the match due to Matheswari's cramps, it seems. The two-and-a-half games lasted an unusually long 1hr 33min, with the score at 18-21, 22-20, 6-8 in favor of JPN on the retirement of INA. It was a battle of attrition with very long rallies that slowly but surely sapped the energies of all the players from both sides. Surprisingly, Matheswari did not show any sign of tiredness but her opponent Maeda was struggling physically to keep up. The defensive abilities of both rivals were much to be admired but somehow, someone had to give in through sheer exhaustion. They say "The best defense is ATTACK". But both sides were not doing enough of this and were content with retrieving as many shots as possible. You would think they were like robots, not thinking hard enough to create openings for the attack. However, it might be the fear of being counter-attacked or that their smashes could be returned easily. So even women players must now be prepared to work harder on their attacking game and have the confidence that their powerful smashes will prevail.
Thank you for the description. I must try to view this interesting match if possible. It seems that AY is physically stronger and her superior fitness must have enabled her to cover the four corners of the court in good time. But it must be her "disguised" shots (net drops?) that made quite a difference in unsettling WYH. I would also think her powerful shots, be it attacking clears and drives and her intermittent smashes, must have also played a good part in her whole strategy of dismantling WYH.
Yesterday, during that badminton-world tv coverage of WSSF, GC was mentioning that "The top 3 ranked WS players from China & Saina of India, have shared 11 of the 12 Super Series titles among them" And MF was adding to that statement that, "... it is fantastic indeed, but to add/clarify more about it, that none of these top 4 players are UN-Beatable.." and ".. WS is undergoing a major transformation now.." with a lot of new talents, and more competition, it's becoming more and more interesting.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIgfB9q-1WU#t=23m20s It's good for the Badminton, to have different/more players competing for the top place.
Yes, AY is much stronger, and yesterday she started slow, and gradually increased her speed, and WYH was unable to cope that speed in the 3rd game. (at least in my humble opinion) Her disguised shots I meant, her delaying the shot, till the last moment, which made sure that WYH get to move only after hitting the shuttle.. Yesterday AY has used a lot of clears to the back-hand corner of WYH, and these were not fast-clears, but high-clears, which made sure that WYH going to that corner to take them with her over-head position. And I noticed in many occasion that AY was using these clears at least 3 in a row.. which made sure to keep WYH at the base line, and opens up the entire court for AY.. And the back-hand corner of WYH made sure that she can only limited-options -- (straight/cross-court - drop/stick-smash --- for all these AY was more than prepared with her fast-legs, and shorter frame. -- short-frame helped her to take the shuttle much lower from the ground without lunging/bending ) --> Here WYH was always trying to come forward, from a shot from that back-hand corner of her court, which made sure that she need to stop and go back again to retrieve another high-clear, which made tired - I assume. And in a couple of occasions, I saw AY attacking the net, by suddenly moving forward towards the net. And the best part I liked was AY's cool behaviour. She was not nervous, and she kept playing her shots, and made sure to move her opponent all around the court. I also would like to watch that match again.. EDIT:- Got the link in Youtube Day 1 - Dubai 2014 Superseries Final - Akane Yamaguchi vs Wang Yihan
Oh, this is very interesting! Indeed, short players have a lower "centre of gravity" that makes them move and turn faster, and of course taking the shuttle lower without having to bend too much. AY's clears must be pretty good to keep WYH at the baseline repeatedly, especially on the backhand, thereby opening up the entire court at AY's disposal. Coupled with WYH's tiredness to be able to recover fast, it must be to the delight of AY to be able to control the game. And many thanks for the link!
On watching it again today, it doesn't seems to be too many clears to the back-hand back-corner.. But whenever it came, WYH was struggling there, leading to errors/mistakes, thus ending the rally.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-9BJSic2NI#t=43m20s
It's not an upset if you expected it! As everyone here probably knows by now, I noticed Yamaguchi's talent long ago (early 2013) and I predicted she would be top 10 by the end of 2014 and a future world number 1. She's not far now, and has proven repeatedly that she can beat the very best. In my perspective, Wang Yihan's scalp today is another expected "non-upset" victory. She will very likely beat Ratchanok today too, which will be the 3rd time this year she's beaten her.
Upset when we consider their respective ranking.. And yes, I do expect AY will be in top 5 by next-year.. AY is a very good talent, and recently in WS, we were seeing more tall players, and it's good to see one exception there. Just noticed in that match there, that AY's coach (or whoever it was there yesterday for assisting her) is a short person. And about RI's match against AY today.. My heart wishes RI wins today, for her simply superb dress But I don't think RI will have a chance against AY, considering how slow the shuttles are in Dubai SSF, and AY's fitness is far more better than RI's.. The best chance for RI's would be to get it done in 2 games, if possible. But AY's defence is much better for RI's to finish it early. But would love to watch RI's in her new dress..
Son Wan Ho retired at the second game after losing at the first game 21-9 11-3 Retired. Tago still have a chance to proceed to semifinal. Son Wan Ho is injured. This explains his easily defeat yesterday by HKV. Chen Long is SMILING now
