For the WS, I think it boils down to Nozomi's endurance. So far she has managed to grind down her opponents in grueling fashion and by adopting the right strategy with intelligent play and grit determination. Let's see if she can do an encore today.
On paper the 'old man' Lin Dan is not supposed to even be in the MS Final, let alone win it at age 34. But, if anybody can do it, he can ! Realistically, most of the advantage is with the much younger man, about 11 years gap, who is reaching his prime and in top form, as well as playing the tournament of his career, his first WC Final; at the Rio OG , he was stopped at the semifinals. In addition, he undoubtedly also has the hunger and the fire. I expect him to rise to the occasion as he did against Chen Long in the semis. I'm afraid, the only thing going for Lin Dan is his immense experience, would it be enough to overcome the youthful exuberance, physical advantage and fearless determination of Viktor Axelsen ? We'll know the answer soon. Can't wait for it.
Thanks to the organizer of this tournament, prime time 7 pm start here local time for Indonesian. No late matches is a delight for us fans.
Chen Qingchen doing double duty is likely to affect her somewhat in her second match,the XD Final, but that's her choice. CHN WD Final against the JPN pair should be a hard-fought one as Fukushima/Hirota appears to be in fine form and every bit as strong as their senior pair,TakaMatsu, if not better at the moment. The XD Final is basically Youth vs Experience. Natsir's reading of the game and her stabilizing influence is key to INA while CQC's conditioning and mentality after the first WD match may have a positive or negative effect on her depending on the outcome.
Equal head to head for all 5 finals. Promised to be an interesting contest ! Hard to predict any of these although I would give the advantage to Ahsan in MD. He has been playing incredible badminton this tournament. All the other matches could go either way
my bold predictions: WS Nokuhara - pure fitness and edurance MS Axelsen - the man is on fire WD Chen Qingchen/Jia - very agressive and fast MD Ahsan/Saputro - nerves of steel XD Ahmad/Natsir - cool as ice + experience
Objectively, funny as it sounds, the Lin Dan vs Axelsen MS title bout is in effect between one who seemingly has nothing to lose, LD, and the other who has everything to gain, VA. Clearly, both contestants just want to prove they can do it, for different reasons, Lin Dan that he can still defy the odds, and VA that it's time he arrives on the big stage, and comes of age.
I'm favoring experience over youth on this one. Lin Dan has the best mental and mind strength all time which is huge determination factor on big titles. SuperDan to collect his sixth titles here.
Fireworks. Great but who pays? BWF, the organisers or the champion. If it is the NA, CHN will go broke.
prediction: Fukushima/Hirota Nozomi LD Ahsan/Saputro Ahmad/Natsir but of course now that I stated it here, it will end up the opposite. watch it.
