Interesting observation. I concur with you more or less except that I'm somewhat reluctant to agree that Momota played better at the Thomas Cup and World Championship in 2018. Personally, I just feel that in 2018, not long after he came back from a one-year suspension, most of the players, the more so his peers and those younger found him a novelty, were unfamiliar with his game and were often subjected to the element of surprise. Also it should be pointed out that in the WC'18, there was an unusually high number of late withdrawals, some of whom were considered serious contenders, such as LCW and Son Wan Ho, just to name two. As a result, the draw became skewed with the half opposite to Momota's more heavily weighted in strength. That's not to take away anything from Momota's triumph, just to put it into perspective. No doubt about it, Momota is still widely regarded as the current world number one, very much the player to beat for every player. However, now that the OG qualification cycle has begun, we would be well-advised to expect the unexpected.
Regarded? He IS the reigning world no1 the last time I check... Edit Hv to reread a few times.. Jumped the gun No doubt about it, Momota is still widely regarded very much as the player to beat for every player, as the current world number one
You see Justin, you analyse things very well and unobjectively as long your personal favorite China players are not involved. Agreed completely, opponents are starting to read his game and it is showing. I only think a select few have the ability to do so and execute though, namely Shi Yuqi, Ginting and Antonsen (though Antonsen doesn’t have the natural power of the other two). Viktor’s mental block seems to have diminished slightly after the AE final but still not enough stamina and patience to expose Momota. The others have not caught on.
How many major titles, both individual and team, are won by CHN in foreign lands as opposed to home soil? I supposed you have in mind this one-two years when Momota is on the comeback trail, then it's arguable. As for homeground advantage, if it's that significant ,why don't those MAs keen on capturing the majors bid to play host ? As for home crowd support, we can get quite a fair bit of it anywhere the big tournament is held.
Simply put CHN is 'regarded' as the best team. hahaha. If Momota is belittled so much just because he is tired, i think CHN team title can also belittled bcoz its play at home.
Well...the bold part a matter of selective reading on your part (of course, you're not the only one), as if I never or don't criticize some CHN players to the extent that some forummers here take issue with me.
A nuanced reply. Technically speaking, I appeared to have made a slight inaccuracy in not equating world number one as world ranked one. Remember, during those days when LCW was WR1, not many considered him as world number one or the best in the world. Or, when Son Wan Ho was ranked WR1 for several weeks, how many regarded him as world number one ? In Momota's case, even those who don't always look at world ranking, generally, know he is world number one hearing all those talk about him. Another way to look at it is I missed or should've put in a comma there, to be exact: No doubt about it, Momota is still widely regarded, as the current world number one, very much the player to beat for every player. Thirdly, "regarded as" also means " referred to ", so in this sense, I'm not wrong. Anyway, whatever, I appreciate your point, it sets my mind thinking and in the process sharpens as well as deepens my understanding of what I've been taking for granted, grammatically and , in a broader sense, linguistically. Thanks.
I just knew you can't help but jump in. Most assuredly, nothing personal. Nevertheless, you should understand why, for example, I criticize , say, He Bingjiao, quite a bit - too much according to you (thanks for your support of her). If only you can sense my motivation for doing that, it's out of love and anxiety for her to succeed as I fear she may be a wasted talent.
So, if you have to pick the best player in SC, who will you choose? If you ask me, of course I will choose minions. From the players who have won the matches at least three times, only CTC and minions that didn't lose a game.
Thanks to CLELY for " pointing out all Shi YQ-Momota encounters happened in China, 6 tournaments so far : BAC 2018 & 2019, Nanjing WChampionships 2018, CHN Open 2018, Guangzhou WT Finals 2018 and yesterday Sudirman Cup Final." Out of six meetings between the two, Shu Yuqi won only two, viz., Guangzhou WTS'18 and Sudirman Cup Final'19 (note, the BAC'18 loss is between these two tournaments).
I think you are not objective in your assessment. Win or lose is just a game and it does not mean it is the end. There are a few other players that can beat Momota presently. The 2 Indonesians just need to be more disciplined and mentally more prepared. They are both more skillful in my opinion.
How many WCs have LCW and Son Wan Ho have won? Should we put an asterisk on Momota's WC18 title then? If so, should we put a different type of asterisk on Momota's BAC18 title where he beat no less than SYQ, CTC, LCW and CL? It reminds me of 2014, when Momota won his first superseries, and some people kept insisting that it did not really count because he did not have to beat any of LD, LCW or CL. Besides, Momota played a record 82 matches in 2018: that should be enough matches for other players to learn his game, if they were not already playing back in 2016. Momota is currently the undisputed MS to beat not just because of his ranking (more than 110,000 points by the way), but because of all the titles he won since his return, including the most important ones, and also because he beat all top-10 players.
I suppose that nowadays we could go as far as saying that, "whoever wins a tournament without Momota participating in it, does not count for much", wouldn't you agree? Actually, by extension, we could add that all MS victories in 2017, during and in the aftermath of Momota's ban, are slightly suspect, and what about those 2016 Olympic medals?
Watched all the Sudirman matches available on TV. Observed that the China players were certainly motivated and inspired by the huge vocal support of the home crowd. It's positive pressure. An undeniable factor that contributed to their unexpected 3-0 win against Japan. It's psychological and they played above themselves! The results could have been different in a neutral venue.
Here are my picks for Sudirman Cup in each category: MS: Axelsen V WS: An S Y WD: Matsumoto/Nagahara MD: Li/Liu (especially Liu, I think his form in this tournament was remarkable) XD: Zheng/Huang
It is very navies to idolised a player and ignore the rest. Beyond the first wave there will be plenty more. In this tournament, An SY is someone we hope to see in the future. I want to believe we will continue to see more for the good of the game.