Yup. If Chen Long is motivated, and he is injury free, Chen Long is the best player in the world. I suspect Chen Long lost some of his motivation after his Olympic gold medal. It happens. Look at Carolina Marin. She lost some of her drive too. And look at Taka/Matsu. They also lost some of their motivation.
Yup. I don't think VA, KS, or KM have ever reached that level of play before. Sadly, because of LD's and LCW's age, only Chen Long is capable of playing at that level today.
Meanwhile, CQC is the strong frontrunner for Female Player of the Year. Next will be playing close to her hometown in HK Open.
Exactly, Lin Dan and LCW at their current age just can't do it anymore, only Chen Long among The Super Trio is still able to play at that highest level. The rest, VA, SK, KM , etc,still have quite some way to go, not sure if anyone of them can do it in the future. Chen Long is fortunate to be born in Lin Dan and LCW's era, it benefits him a lot to have two such great players during their prime to school him.
Yeah no one will reach LD prime level ,maybe only taufik hidayat at peak level....CL will rule till tokyo 2020 unless the others become more consistent and Varied in skill and strategy and improve their fitness.
You see if ChenLong gets gold in Tokyo OG, It can be said he is more successful than LD with 2Gold,1Bronze compared to LD 2Gold. He will also win more SS by then. Not sure if LD actually have more open tournaments (in total) from the early 2000s-2006. So why is LD more famous? I believe it's all about the rivalry with LeeChongWei.
LCW made what LD is today or was yesterday. Without LCW, there's no LD. Big sacrifice on LCW's part. Thats why they are such good pals. LCW invited LD to his wedding but LD declined. LYB and BCL were there. Now that LCW is on the decline, LD lost that motivation too.
CL isn't the best player in the world currently. He only won a handful of tournaments for the last two years. GC said this is his first SS title for more than 2 years after the 2015 DEN Open. Best player is one who is consistent in winning titles spread over a period of time, not all titles but more than the 2nd best. CL turns up occasionally, especially after 2015.
I'm with Steen, as CQC will play another home advantage in the next stop HK Open ( which is literally at her home province of Guangdong). Most likely she will add another title again here.
Most people here agree if ChenLong wins the last tour, then he is as good as first. because he is first in the last tour. Dont know how many times i see dragon word lol
So many weathercock in this forum! Not long ago, VA was untouchable. Today, with one win, CL is unbeatable again, in a league of his own