Fox, thanks for posting. And a special thanks to ShuttleFlash for making the video. Truly appreciate it.
I manage to catch the 2nd game of last night game between Lin Dan and Varma on youtube. I noticed that Lin Dan has added more speed and aggression in his game since the All England Championship where he won the champion. Looking forward to see how the improved Lin Dan will fair against LCW in the semi-final of the India Open.
LD's defense is still not quite as good as it once was. It seems that its probably the biggest gap in this armoury at the moment that could cause him problems against stronger players. In the German final, he was playing a very clever game in not giving CTC many opportunities to attack, because CTC's attack is quite strong and is often a winner or creates good opportunities for him. There hasn't been many smashes from LD that were near full power in recent years which is something we as spectators all miss from this legend but I noticed at the AE, there were a few smashes that were on par with his 2008 self - which was great to see. He seems to have upped his game this year and varies his strategy considerably against different players which is something other players don't do enough. If LCW can do the same, he would improve immensely imo. We caught a glimpse of this in the HK open against CL last year where he played a patient and slower game but I think LCW can definitely do more to vary his game and not rely on his speed so much.
Agree, His defence is very human now. I will go as far to say the worst defence in Top 5. But Control, So awesome!! He hits so close to the line that you can't tell whether it's In or Out and SWH had to take all those 40 : 60(In : Out) today. Movement wise he is looking very sharp compared to last year.
Yes he is moving extremely well and perhaps one of the most efficient footwork I've seen bar CL. But although his clears and lifts are amazingly accurate, his smashes aren't. In his younger days he would not hesitate to smash to within millimetres from the side lines. He doesn't seem to be forcing errors from his opponents, but seems rather content to wait for an error. There are so many good players now that play very consistently that I don't think this is always the best strategy. I would love to see either LD or LCW take gold at Rio but these guys really need to up their game now.
Again I fully agree with you. We LD fans miss our maestro painting the lines in his old artistic ways. To be honest, I think his biggest strength - His raw power & core strength has declined a LOT! allowing these nobodies to match him on few fronts which they have no right to do so. And in my opinion,he is not even as accurate as he was in 2012 or 2013. The last time I saw a powerful Lin Dan was in Asian Games 2014. Since then, he is just another player with few qualities and a unique mental toughness.
Just see the first set. Just look how uncomfortable Jan O Jorgensen is. Anything less than good is punished brutually. Just look the confidence on LD's face.
My purely personal three cents on this: Over the years, there have been players who have mastered one or more aspects of the competitive side of badminton - Morten Frost was a master at planning his matches, Zhao Jianhua was unparalleled in shot selection, Hendrawan was the king of the deceptive return, Peter Gade was the lord of the set-up, Lee Chong Wei was and is unbeatable in recovery, and so on. But no one has towered over the sport like Lin Dan has. I would strongly argue that Lin Dan is the most complete player our sport has ever seen. It would be a very foolish coach that writes off Lin Dan's chances at Rio 2016. His recent matches (against Son Wan Ho, among others) were performances capped with a safety valve. Shots that carried the risk of injury in their return were simply ignored or gifted away. In short, until he reaches Rio, he is willing to train, play and compete... but he is not willing to work too hard for anything. It's all being held back in his quest for that last and greatest moment of glory.
Chong Wei is the toughest opponent I have ever faced : Super DAN Unlike Lee Chong Wei who has named Chen Long as his toughest opponent, Badminton Legend Lin Dan said in his interview to Times of India that Lee Chong Wei will always be his fiercest opponent and the toughest he has ever come across. "I have played against many great players (like Taufik Hidayat,Peter Gade,Chen Long,Lee Dong Keun) but I will always consider Lee Chong Wei as my toughest competitor," said the five-time world champion. http://www.firstpost.com/sports/i-w...an-2705504.html?utm_source=FP_CAT_LATEST_NEWS
Rightfully so in my opinion, cox Chen Long is trained to counter LCW and Chen Long gives too much respect to LD. LCW is probably one of the few that really push him to his max. As oldhand says too, he's the most complete player we ever seen.
Yes, the idiot reporter got it wrong. He never researched anything and also probably misheard the name in translation when Lin Dan said that. Of course, it is Lee Hyun Il.
Lin Dan's flick serve I saw it very closely with my own eyes and I can assure you, you can do nothing about it. Two free points per game as he uses it at the perfect time. It was called a fault against Sasaki in All England but was perfectly legal against Jorgensen. I am sure ref can't do much either as the motion looked same to me compared to his normal serve.
LD is a very very very nice person,especially towards his fans. I once went out with some of his official fan club staff and I got the chance to meet him a few times when I was in China around 2012 and 2013. There was this time when China's training base was open to the public. The training base located somewhere far from downtown and you had to drive there and LD's fan club rented 2 bus for fans who couldn't drive. Almost all Chinese top players came to communicate with fans and LD was the most popular one without any doubt. He stayed with the fans until the very end of this event. It was like 5 pm and before he left he asked everyone whether they could catch the bus to go back. 2 girls didn't come to the base with LD's fan club bus and their friends drove away earlier. They said it was OK they could take suburban bus or something to go home. LD said it was not safe for them and he asked his fan club staff to take care of these girls. However there was no free seat on the bus. LD then made some calls and found someone from the base who could drive the 2 girls home. I went to watch German open this year and I got the chance to talk with him for a while. I told him I met him a few years ago and he replied: ' Yeah of course. You're a friend of %^%$(my friend's nickname) ,aren't you? I remember you.' And I burst into tears.