Country representatives in R2 14 - JPN 13 - CHN 12 - INA 10 - KOR 7 - THA 5 - MAS, TPE, DEN 2 - CAN 1 - USA, NED, IND, ENG, RUS, BUL, IRL
Nowadays, they have very little choice. China Men's Singles Dept is also facing a shortage of new players coming through. SYQ is too injury prone/inconsistent, LuGZ HuangYX are not quite there yet, as evident from their inconsistent performances, thus CL is one old hand still hanging there to prop up the national team. At 30, he has still one OG left, and a few more WCs plus other team events. IMO, supporting role perhaps..peaking ..winning gold is a big ask for him. No one to push him hard, unlike the LD-LCW legendary rivalry - forcing these 2 legends to display their best even well into their 30s..
Nice to read that kind of comment on here... quite refreshing. Lin Dan said it himself in a recent interview, he sure has his own goals but he plays for his fans. If this older generation still enjoy the game, let's also enjoy watching them a little bit more instead of "pitying" them for not retiring when we (fans) want them to.
Everyone will suffer that but if its me, i wouldnt choose like Taufik /LD / LYD (as WR1 )although i think its tougher when you get older playing Singles. I would choose Natsir's route of retirement. Had she not injured for years, i think she will continue to play till TokyoOG. But retired as WR3 and imo still at the top, i think that is the best. Not everyone can have retirement for her (and also retiring for good)
AA WC Silver Medalist going down in single digits again ?? Another Upset As Long as i see you at OG Podium next year its all fine AA..keep your eyes on Tokyo 2020 and dont push your body too much in these regulars..save it up for thr Biggest. Watching VA closely and it doesnt look good
No worries OG Bronze medalist and W.Champ VA ..I knw its hard coming back from an injury but your getting stronger by days. Just take care of yourself and please dont push yourself and risk injuries and save it up for Tokyo ! See you at Denmark Open ! Best of all the luck Champ
If everyone saves it for tokyo, the badminton world will be boring isn't it? All about wc and tokyo only?
kinda boring also to see old players not winning any tournament in 1 year. i would face reality and coach others.
For me it will be boring to see players like VA,AA,CL,LD getting ousted in the preliminary rounds of OG/WC than seeing the same situation in REGULARS
