Well,as a LD fan...i just want him to match LCW and CL and all others just once and that is Rio Olympics.Hope,he will found a way
Granted, LD is aging and being 31 years old, a drop in his game is expected since he doesn't have the stamina anymore. Having said that, I didn't expect such a huge drop in LD's game. Frankly, I think LD's biggest obstacle isn't his age, but it's his motivation. IMO, LD came back for the money, not because he is motivated to perform. I'm pretty sure LD spent more effort in getting the highest paying sponsor (ie. he played Addidas, Li Ning, and Yonex against each other to get the most sponsorship money), than he has spent effort in training. IMO, LD is hanging around the pro circuit mostly for the money than for future accomplishments. Does LD need another Olympic gold? He has 2 already. 3 golds is nice but when you have 2, you're probably feeling content. I'm pretty sure LD doesn't care much for another WC or All-England title - he has enough of those. While I said last year that it was a mistake to leave LD out of the WC because he was the best player in the world last year (and I was proven right when LD beat Chen Long at the Asia Game finals), I put Chen Long and LCW above LD for this year's WC. I have a feeling LD doesn't really want to win the WC this year (since he has already won it so many times) and while LD may put in the minimum effort to qualify for the Olympics, I'm not even certain he really wants a 3rd gold. If LD wants a 3rd gold medal at the Olympics, I'd like to see his performance rise to the level of a worthy candidate for a 3rd gold medal.
Sure looks like LD is going through the motion in these SS, maybe he couldn't care much about these cheapie SS thingies or he is just well...Generous. I wouldn't bank on LD playing his best at WC, already got 5 and Dragon Long can take care of Dato, then MS stays in CHN, comrade sama-sama. Only if CL screw up, then LD will step up to screw Dato up, LOL. LD already got his biggie last year i.e. Asian Games 2nd gold, that matches TH. It is all about that 3rd OLY gold coin that will make it near impossible for anyone to achieve. So, why risk your body venturing into risky business like diving defense, jumping smash, etc for meagre paycheck when you consider LD has to play 5 matches to win USD$59,000, equal to $12K per match, and assuming 30 min per match, that is like <$400 per minute. With that huge Adidas contract and other lucrative sponsors like G&G, etc, LD makes more per second not playing than to sweat like heck to earn that miserable <$400 per minute....his accountant must be advising him 'hey, dude, take it easy, go enjoy Indonesian satay, get a massage, and come back to enjoy home made soup'...Simply not worth it to sweat to win that IO Open, be generous and let others earn some money....hahaha!!!
To be fair, he had to play in the INA open to avoid a fine, but I'm really unsure about the AUS open. I keep trying to reason out why he plays each tournament. Will LD change his playstyle to avoid the third game??
Who knows what LD is up to... but one thing is for sure is that he's very capable and very smart. His remaining goals as I see it are only the upcoming WC and Rio OG. Everything else is small potatoes to him and not worth his Super Dan effort.
LD has it all....whether he wins Rio gold coin or not, he already has so much endorsement cash safely in the bank. Win in Rio and he sets a world record that probably will never be broken at least in my lifetime and his endorsement value goes up through the roof. Lose in Rio, he won't get the gold medal but he still got the real gold and USD in the bank, then embark on a career in entertainment as someone said in another post. How can LD lose either way? Still young to enjoy all these good fortune, laughing all the way to bank. Life is good...LG for sure.
I'm somewhat dazed, still not quite sure what to make of it, three early exits, two of which in the 1st round, is simply not the kind of record to associate with Lin Dan. Personally, it's just not the Lin Dan I knew. Even if Lin Dan doesn't really care, I believe both Li Yongbo and his multi-million dollar (RMB) sponsor,Yonex, care. Such embarrassing results within a couple of months is simply not acceptable, not when his name is Lin Dan. Simply put, I doubt he can afford to offend CBA/LYB and Yonex at the same time, bearing in mind all of them, including Li-Ning, made compromises and concessions to accommodate his special,unprecedented sponsorship request. Either Lin Dan overestimated himself or underestimated what is required to carry on top-notch badminton in his continuing quest for Olympic and World Championship glory for the sake of the lucrative sponsorship (as part of his retirement plans) - it is high time he reset his priorities aright , buck up,and quickly pull his socks up, no two ways about it, precisely.
All the talk about Koo and Tan has since long taken place in a "Going downhill"-thread, maybe someone should create such a thread for Lin Dan also?
go ahead. actually it would be interesting if someone collect/plot how far he has reached in all the tournaments he participated since 2011/2012 or so.
You guys are all too worried for LD... he is saving his energy for his matches against LCW and CL come WC in August...
I've always wondered what's more energy saving: Playing long matches based on stamina, good footwork, anticipation and shot-placement or playing an attacking-based game with continues jump smashes and quick followup? Because I've heard Gillian Clark always talk about players like Tien Minh Nguyen, Lee Hyun Il, Tommy Sugiarto, Marc Zwiebler and the likes, who do not possess a "killer smash" and that she thinks it takes them too long to win matches they're expected to win and then losing in the (semi-)final because they ran out of stamina.
ive been his fan from his early days, one thing I notice since he play again againts lee chong wei back in 2013 when he eventually win in the final world champs. his getting "STIFF" that is one thing that I think really" important other than any other stat, unlike any other sport. If you see players who has gained their fame like LCW TH early LD and CL. theyre movement is flowing and thats what missing from LD now, he's too stiff. thats from my observations why hes going down, even hes stiffer than hu yun, i'll bet on huyun if he met lin dan for next match.
I agree with you. LD won too many games which make people has high expection on him to win again and again that any lost to players other than Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei is an upset. If we look Lin Dan career, he has never been as consistent player as compared with Lee Chong Wei. He is focusing his effort on the big tournaments that he want to win since 2010. For example, I remembered very well that LD was so good in the Thomas cup 2010 and beat both LCW and TH easily. Then he suddenly lost his steam and lost in a few tournaments included World championship but he won the Asian games 2010 which means the most to him. We are bound to be disappointed if we expect LD to win every tournament he participated. It is very clear that LD want more out of his life (not just badminton) since olympics 2012. After LD win the surdiman cup 2015, it is quite clear that he want to have some rest but Australian open and indonesia open just a few weeks after the surdiman cup. So, it won't be so surprised that he lost in the early round in these two tournaments. Having said that I beleive CBA will push LD harder on training after this as I think they want LD to keep world No.2 before Olympics qualification period finishes. The last thing they want to see is Chen Long and LD meet in the early round Rio 2016.
If you have been following him since Olympics 2012, it won't be difficult to see that he want some rest after Surdiman cup but Australian and indonesian opens came so close after Surdiman cup. I think LD has a plan which tournaments he wants to win over the next 11 months. LYB and Yonex saw LD got the last point for China to win Surdiman cup so I think they will understand LD intention.
No,i am not talking about looks.Just the aura which he oozed at that point.Breathtaking body language
