You guys act like I am saying LD has scrub skills or something like that, at that level, the differences are so minuscule, they're hard to notice, but there are players who are technically better (I define being technically better as having more variations, and a higher quality within those variations). LD has extremely fundamentally sound, but he doesn't have these special shots in the same way that a SK or VA has them, or the same touch at the net as a TH, Gade, I could go on and on, but his shots are fundamentally near perfect, we can all see that. Im just saying there are players with a larger skillset (Ie bigger variation) and possibly better quality within those variations for some (Eg: Axelsen's angles, SK's kills at the net etc)
The game wasn't slower back then, it was much the same speed, I would encourage you to actually watch it. Search up liem swie king's smash, it was better than any player today, or Zhao Jianhua in 1990 All England, or him against Ardy in 1991 World Champ Semis, the game was pretty much the same speed. It was hella physical, those guys drained the soul out of each other to get one point
Think what you want And what are you talking about? If you want me to espouse some technical knowledge, that would take forever
Ive already watched those matches loads of times man, both players were playing nigh on perfect badminton, it's why those matches are classics. And this is what I mean, LD is super fundamentally sound, that grip in the late FH comes from him twisting it in his hand, which is actually the proper fundamental way to do it, I mean there are all these little fundamental things that he does which separates him, its not like he has a gimmick like SK (SO MANY VARIATIONS) or VA (What are those angles bruh?) He is above gimmicks, because his GREATEST strength is his mind, like Muhammad Ali said, "The Will must be greater than the skill", and LD certainly fits that bill
Theres nothing fundamental about adjusting the racket perfectly on every shot I bet if we were to compare slowmos, Srikanth doesnt do half those 'fundamentals', as you call them, as well as LD. Again - he has nothing on LD in terms of overhead deception. Its less flashy then playing a spectacular inside out net shot, but less risky and just as effective. So is keeping an insanely high shot quality even when under pressure....theres a 2011 WC LD compilation that showcases just that.
In the beginning of LD's career, what separated him from the rest was his sheer aggression, no player was that aggressive in every match, but he was, and Taufik had trouble dealing with it that first time out in 2002 Asian Games (Which I assume is what you are referring to, and in that tournament, Taufik faced him in the team competition, which took place before the individual competition, which TH WON, he was saving energy, for the individual gold, I'm sure LD wouldn't have won if the team competition was afterwards, and he could give him everything), but we can see the next 4 years (Arguably until Doha Asian Games 2007) that LD was dominated by Taufik in the majors. Much the same thing as in 2002 happened at 2006 Asian Games, TH was soundly beaten by LD in the team competition, but then guess who emphatically took the individual gold, yes, TH. Look at Taufik skill for skill, Taufik has better power generation, more variations and better net play, better flat play, better defence around his body (And in his prime, he had a hell of a defence in general, as good as anyone ever). Ask any badminton commentator or player, they will tell you Taufik had the most dangerous net play and flat play out of any singles players. AGAIN, the difference in level is so miniscule, but it is there if you look for it
the internet's not going anywhere. we can wait. if you really know what you're talking about it won't take long.
Of course there is something fundamental about it, he is walking badminton technique, every motion of his is so fundamentally sound, just like LCW, CL, TH, Gade, they are all SO fundamentally sound. All these guys do the same fundamental overhead motion, LD's deception in his prime came from addressing the shuttle early, with the same preparation everytime (More in the case of his later ones), it is just sound fundamental badminton. SK has much better overhead deceptions than LD, because he has more variations, have you seen this guy hit overheads, he has so many variations and you have no idea about the shot that is coming at all. LD can keep shot quality under pressure, because he is one of the most fundamentally strong players there has ever been
LCW only has a top 20 level game in terms of his skills, but he is the fastest player ever, that is why he is so lethal (That isn't what I said, that is what Steen Pedersen said, and he is a REAL badminton expert), SK has so many variations, he can do kills and deceptions at the net that I have seen almost no player in history do (The only other one who had net play like that is Hendrawan, from what I remember), SK also has a lot of overhead variations, much more than LD AGAIN: The differences at this level are SO SMALL @samkool
Yeah buddy, just soaking in LD getting booted first round, and TH taking gold in style AGAIN, this is what makes LD great, he took that loss(It was hella crushing, he was runaway favourite to win that year, and he choked to RONALD SUSILO, I mean damn, obvious choke), and became the greatest winner in badminton history, he went from a choker, to a good old fashioned winner. This is why he has won everything, it's not because of some physical or technical gimmick over everyone else, it is because of his mental hunger. Gimmicks can be figured out, but how can you beat a man who refuses to be beaten (More often than not you will lose to him, as shown by the fact that he has the highest winning percentage of ANY badminton player ever, especially in his prime, he lost like 3-4 matches a year max back then
Another thing I am impressed with is the fact that LD has consistently gotten better technically and strategically as he has aged, he keeps finding ways to improve (EG: the half smash he used in Rio 2016 and afterwards, it wasn't there before, but it was one of his highly used and best shots in 2016, and almost won him Olympic gold, or the new body defence he has adopted these days in 2017 (You can see it, and you can also hear Lars Uhre mention it in Worlds 2017 during LD's first round match) It's why he is so great, keeps improving, he is dedicated to being the best badminton player he can be, he is just so AWESOME
Of course the game was slower in the 80 and 90s. Dont be ridiculous The apex of speed was probably the 2008 Olympic final, but the game got much more accurate since then even if the players may have slowed down a bit in the average rally.
OHHH MY GODDD, THIS 16 YEAR OLD ACTUALLY KNOWS SOMETHING, I WANT TO PUT HIM DOWN, HE SEEMS SO COCKY (even though he hasn't said a single thing about himself, about "how great he is, or how much better he is than everyone else (I haven't said a thing like that, have I "just saying his perspective), I WANT TO PUT HIM DOWN, LET ME GO ALL CAPS LOCK ON THE KEYBOOARD, WOOOO Come on @stanleyfm , be sensible, judge the information, not the messenger
Im not being ridiculous, go and watch those matches and honestly tell me they were any faster nowadays then back then, look at Ardy and Zhao, I mean those dudes were faster than pretty much any modern player, they were about the same speed as LD, LCW, AGAIN: the differences at this level are so minuscule
THAN YOU SHOULD NOT SAY THAT YOU HAVE WATCH BADMINTON THAN ANYBODY IN THIS FORUM BECAUSE WE DON'T NEED THAT INFORMATION ABOUT WHO YOU ARE, TO READ AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WROTE come on kid, don't think that you never made any mistake
One isolated match (Even though it was a hella important match) does not describe the general speed of the game, and if you want to go there, Zhao's 1990 All England Final was pretty dominating in terms of the sheer speed he held over Joko in that final (Watch it man, you'll see)
First off boss, please calm down, we don't need the hate, and second, you guys keep treating me like I know nothing, it was that guy who told me to go watch some matches in that condescending way, I didn't appreciate that, so just said the truth, I mean what kid nowadays even knows who Ardy Wiranata is anymore, right? Im not your normal 16 year old, I really love this game, and I just want to have some calm discussion Maybe I seemed arrogant when I said I watched more badminton than any of you guys, I'm sorry for that, but I pride myself on being a student of the game.
then please say 'I have watched enough bla bla bla', and show what you got. not necesserily bloating yourself in an open forum and you then basically said that you know more things than everybody in this forum because you already watched more matches than everybody in this forum