Not bad to have MF on the sideline,, he wasn't the great technical player, but he was a master mind in mental games... Even as a Dane-undersigned I wish LCW will win the gold, he deserve it as one of the greatest players and a true gentlemen in this sport LD already got his gold,, phenomenal fantastic player<<≥≥ the other players are still more or less young and still have plenty time to prove they deserve that piece of OL gold
LCW got better form than Lin Dan so he will advance to final, Chen Long will also advance to final base on his form. Chen Long got better stamina and will win if go into 3rd set.
Lets see who will handle the nerves and pressure better in the semi-final. Previously, both Lin Dan and Chen Long do not have to worry about carrying all the expectations as their teammates always do the job. But now, China is left with both LD and Chen Long as well as MD to cover up China's disgrace after all the early elimination. Will China receive the same fate as Korean? OR will Mas who end up with just silver and bronze. For once, Lin Dan will finally feel the burden that LCW has been carrying for his nation as the sole survivor in the previous Olympics. But Lin Dan is still lucky as Chen Long is surviving strongly in the other half of the draw. In Rio, LCW finally has comrades that enter the final much more earlier which may ease up a bit the burden he is carrying in this Olympics. Lets see which LCW and Lin Dan will appear in the semi-final. Super Dan or Super Wei
MAS XD won silver, outcome of MD finals is unknown. If there is no gold for MD, would the burden of winning gold fall back on LCW again?
MD final match is after LCW vs Lin Dan. So the burden is still there to get into final just in case MD failed later on.
Yeap yeap. If LCW gets to the finals and MD gets a silver... There is alot of expectation for lcw to win gold, IMO.
For now its better for LCW to focus on getting into final. If he failes,he needs to settle for bronze instead of silver At least, if LCW is able to defeat his nemesis Lin Dan, it will boost up the spirit of Mas camp
If LCW lose it will be a big disappointment for him and his fans, but to be on the last four for 3 olympics is already incredible
If he wants to win, its better to defeat both Lin Dan & Chen Long is his route to get the gold. He cannot get away from facing his biggest nemesis and mental block, Lin Dan.
According to the pool result, it was a surprise that chen Long won the gold. However, if people truely vote with their brain rather than their heart, Chen Long should have actually come up as top contender. People wrote him off because he lost to LCW consecutively four times but forgot the fact that Chen Long won the last two world championships by beating LCW in both occasions .
That's what the UK Telegraph thought so too when picking Chen Long as the likely gold prospect; they probably also considered Chen Long's relative youth as compared with LCW and LD.
Also it's somewhat surprising that none of the past greats and experts, former badminton players, chose Chen Long as the top favourite; only Dong Jiong (iirc), who picked Lin Dan or Lee CW , actually said it's possible Chen Long might surprise us at the Olympics.
I feel sorry for Chen Long to play in the same era with LD and LCW. As LD semi retired post 2012 London Olympics, most of the titles are shared between Chen Long and LCW. But to most fans, LD and LCW are still the best players and treat rio 2016 semifinal as a final. Despite Chen Long won the gold but LD was still the one who receive all the glamorous welcome in china when they came back from Rio.
Its funny how Axelsen got the same amount of votes as Chen Long, even though the majority of us knew, especially after seeing the draw, that he was a strong contender to beat VA, LCW or LD
Don't worry, Chen Long's adulation and rightful place in the eyes of badminton fans globally will come. For me, the blessing for Chen Long in Lin Dan's era with Lee CW is that Chen Long started his career being schooled by the two supreme masters and he's benefited the most learning from the Super Duo, and now Chen Long has proven himself their most outstanding student, even excelling one of the two masters, LCW be beating him often enough, even grabbing the most coveted titles from him. Future generations, as well as many in the current young generation in their pre-twenties and early twenties aren't so fortunate. It's one thing to watch and study the greats,scrutinising the videos of their games inside out, but it's another to actually play them in a match, praxis as opposed to theory or rote learning/training. It's normal, even natural , for Super Dan to be accorded that kind of special, privileged treatment, his accomplishments are so great, of such a magnitude, that is, his accumulated capital over the years are so huge that even if he stopped winning anything and quit after LOG'12, he will still be held in the highest esteem and revered for years and decades to come. Chen Long, The Dragon, is only beginning to win some of the highest accolades in recent years, all the time in the shadow of Lin Dan and to a lesser extent LCW's. But now, after the Rio Olympics, I expect him to come out of their shadows completely and establish himself in his own right as the chosen one, reigning supreme in his own era. Therefore, it is vital for Chen Long to continue in his all-conquering, all-winning ways, for as long as possible. His time will come as he takes his place in the pantheon of badminton heroes for all time. Hey, Chen Long is still in his prime,he has at least a few more years to scale greater heights. I believe The Dragon can do it.
Generally speaking, yes, Chen Long's game is not as interesting, exciting, entertaining to watch as Lin Dan 's and LCW's but I believe we'll get used to it and appreciate it better as time goes by, the more so as both LD and LCW gradually fade away from the badminton scene. Personally, I'd much like LCW to carry on for a couple years, if only to keep Chen Long on his toes. Lin Dan for sure is winding down even if he doesn't choose to quit completely.
LCW has lost to Chen Long all in straight sets in the final of WC 2014, WC 2015 and OG 2016. Even though he would still be able to grab some SS titles here and there. I doubt Chen Long would spare him any of the big titles just like what LD has done to LCW. Playing in the same era as Lin Dan and Chen Long has costed LCW only silver in seven big titles' final. Not going to be any easier when he also has biological clock already ticking on him too.
A week has passed and LCW is still brooding over the Rio'16 loss to Chen Long. http://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2016-08-29/doc-ifxvixer7388992.shtml “那天（男单决赛）就不属于我，可能和2012年伦敦奥运时不一样，那时候我在比赛中曾领先，但最终输掉，但这次我发挥非常好，只是对手谌龙发挥得更好。” " That day (MS Final) didn't belong to me, perhaps different from the London OG 2012, at that time I was leading during the match, but lost it in the end. However, this time I played very well, just that my opponent Chen Long played even better."
