Super 500 is more interesting than Super 750/1000... Wonder why.. Hopefully in 2019 when everything is back to its place, the quality will be better
BWF need to reconsider their schedule planning. Top players won't be in fit condition all the time. Upsets are welcome but if it was only for one round then it is pointless.
Natsir is better than ZYL as an XD player. Gill said. But ZYL is a better badminton player than Natsir.
Even with weak(er) partners he still managed to get into Top rankings if they allowed him to compete more. He and LYH peaked at ranking no.3 last year
That's cos Natsir has played quite successfully with a no. of partners -- but ZYL has only shone in XD with Zhang Nan (whether it was by the design of the CHN national team or not)... However, it was pretty clear that ZYL was the "all-round" play-maker + captain + back-court smasher + front-court net-player, etc. whether she was playing in WD or XD -- hence the idea that she's a more "complete" badminton player -- that's why CHN has gotten her back as a coach now.
Same reason why World Championship/ Olympics/ etc. are tend to be less "interesting" -- because of the qualification requirements... You don't get many surprises/ upsets -- especially towards the end of the tournament -- when the players/qualifiers have already been playing the circuit long enough for you to know how good/bad they are... if you've been following the circuit, that is.
Only silly will think ZYL better than Natsir. Look who ZYL play with. Look who Natsir play with. Of course, a young natsir and ZN will be the better powerhouse. But what if ZYL plays with Ahmad? Lol.
14th titles for Minions. Even IndonesiaOpen belongs to them. 2 China Open, 2 AE, 1 IndonesiaOpen. They can sweetdream till morning light. I also notice something. Maybe its important to taste success early in partnership, we know these two guys are not LeeChongWei. Singles players that are good will be very good but good Doubles pairs need good understanding. Do you realise that top pairs in Singles have more h2h than doubles? Even Tommy meet LCW 17 times and Tommy is not even top players.
I like this MAS pair... they seem so friendly... I hope they will improve greatly & their achievement will rub on their face more ahead. And man, GLY is just so cute..
We wouldn't see this kinda view if it was duo Mads or any other Danes pair who minions against with in final match..
Mads must be stressed losing too many times to them, to be honest. As a double pair, it must be frustrating. If i play single and i always lose a certain player then its obvious that he is better. But i think Li/Liu/ Mads/ whatever they are quite close with minions ,But its always minions who win the title causing stress to opponents. Its just in the mindset. Remember, in the past we have 4/5 doubles pair that shares titles.
I think the pressure in bigger events are a bit different to smaller events. When it is Super 500 the players weren't as expected to do as much as if they were to play in Super 750/1000 or even bigger events. The seeds not playing well crumbling under the pressure while the underdogs surprises with their unfamiliarity playing style in early rounds. Just reflect on the bottom half of the MDs this time all the seeds got crushed by unseeded pairs in early rounds and when those new pairs got through to the higher stage they were 'crushed' by the more consistent players. Not to mention when players get to the final they suddenly freezes and somehow forgets how to play badminton.
To me GYL always looks like she has something stuffed in her upper cheeks, like a hamster not trying to be mean or disparage her looks, that thought just always pops into my head when I see her play, especially when they show her close up when serving...