Wait, no offence but is Endo considered a legend now? He's a good player and all though unfortunately will be remembered by majority of badminton fans as a choker.. but mention him as a legend in the same bracket with Setiawan is bit too far, no?
hmmm... how many players are/were ranked this high @ 33 years old and playing better than they ever have? do you consider peter gade a legend?
I think you're being pedantic here. Sure, Endo is not a "legend" by virtue of winning tournaments, championships or medals. But he played his part in the past era and still playing a relevant role in the current era (in fact, better). We're not talking about someone who's a pretender but rather, a legit contender. Whether he manages to win or not is a different story. Skill-wise he's still smarter than most of the upcoming youngsters. Only his mentality under pressure holds him back.
To be fair, Endo will be more remembered as ChokeKing instead of Legend. He is really smart but the ending is just terrible, no one can have worst story than him ( if you put LCW) aside.
Missed the entire WTF action due to traveling. Just saw the replay of MD finals and I am so happy for the daddies. It's just written in the stars that when they win the WC, they will win the WTF too. If they manage to win the Olympic Gold next year, it would be the cherry on top. But I still couldn't get over the fact that Ashan didn't find any buyers in PBL. This is very ridiculous isn't it? Anyways I think it's a blessing in disguise for him as he will get more time to take care of his niggle. Play hard. Train harder.
Think he did better here than last year though. Last year he was a nervous wreck, this year the points he gifted can be kinda seen as forced errors if you don’t know his history.
1. Setiawan / Ahsan, Wijaya / Gunawan still won titles at the same age, Fu won gold medal at 32 years old, Boe / Moe? the list can go on and on, badminton is not a sport that we play only for the last 10 years. It's a century old. Playing good level of badminton at old age does not make you a legend. Hell Greysia Polii is in the same age with him and won three times more individual titles compare to Endo, both still ranked in the top ten. She is more a legend than Endo then? Or because his fans thinking he play smart badminton so he deserve to be a legend than other player that achieved much more than him? 2. Me and the other 90% of badminton fans worldwide consider Peter Gade as a Legend
So, you are agree he's not a legend then? at least not yet. Being relevant is not enough to be called a legend imo
some people are happy because Ahsan / Setiawan repeated their successes in 2013 and 2015: WC and SSF. But frankly, I'm a little worried about their achievements in Olympic 2020 by remembering their 2016 results. There were 3 similar achievements that were achieved by Hendra / Ahsan in 2019 with 2015. WC, SSF and WR 2 at the end of the year. The striking difference is, in 2015 they are not too dominant and can be defeated by several pair. But what I find most interesting is the pair that they defeated at SSF 2015 Dubai all had better performance than they did at the 2016 Olympics. At SSF Dubai they are in the same group as Endo / Hayakawa, Zhang Nan / FHF and LYD / YYS. In the final Hendra / Ahsan defeated Chai Biao / Hong Wei. At the 2016 Olympics they were in same group with Endo / Hayakawa and Chai / Biao, where both defeated them. and in the end Zhang Nan / FHF became Olympic champions. I hope Ahsan / Setiawan remember that as a lesson, and will remain vigilant, maintain their consistency and don't burn them self out in 2020.
The good thing though I feel like they're not really feeling the pressure anymore, like you could see the difference in their face when they lost in 2015 and when they lost now. also at rio olympic there's just too much pressure, they're the only representative for INA in MD and people were expecting them to take the gold, even more than tontowi/natsir. I remember hendra can't even serve properly the whole tournament and both look really tensed that time. I don't think it would be the case for tokyo since there's minions now.
Now they’ve had a fantastic season, winning all the major titles this year. Their strengths have been discussed a lot, but what do you guys think are some of their weaknesses? Personally, I think the best chance to beat them is through flat play, rush them by attacking the net on their soft shots. I always hear the commentators mention their flat play, but while I agree their flat play is very good, there are quite a number of pairs that can match them on this front. Gideon/Sukamuljo is the obvious example, but I think they are challenged by pairs like Li/Liu, even Lu/Yang this tournament and Choi/Seo just a few examples because they are good in flat play and like to rush the net at any opportunity. Ahsan/Setiawan don’t really like to be rushed, while they are quick thinkers, they are best in those medium fast rallies where they are in control and have the clarity of thought to play the most optimal shots. Endo/Watanabe didn’t challenge them with their defence alone, but because especially Watanabe was constantly pressuring the net when they played soft shots. So far they’ve been edging out in most of these matches thanks to their experience and skills, but I wonder how their opponents will go back and reflect how to better counter them next year.
I think to beat them you need : 1. good defense 2. good front court player 3. good enough in the service situation Probably why they keep struggling against minions
I think Ahsan has to be careful with his injury. It was calf injury in CO, now what wrist injury. I think this is the one biggest factor that can affect their performance and also what opponents can look to capitalise. Ahsan didnt play really well in Final, just got bailed by Hendra supernets many times to end the rally plus endo shooting himself in the end. He looked relieved more than any other player when the matches end. Its very tight in G2, had it gone rubber, 60% chance they will lose. Usually they just tanked G2, this time they needed to win it since it was tight.
Ahsan/Setiawan did not had a good 2016 before Rio, and i thought Ahsan was having some back prob again during the Olympics. hence the lost in group stage to Endo/Hayakawa and Chai/Hong. Hayakawa then hurt his back and lost in the knockout round to the British pair. yes, at their age, preventing injury is their no.1 concern. their consistent performance should see them get a ticket to Tokyo. it's also true that the no.1 favourite for the gold medal will be the Minions (who won the Japan Open at the stadium where the Olympics badminton will be held), hence that will take some pressure of them. who can trouble the Daddies? those super quick pairs (Minions), plus quick+sound defence+creative play (Choi/Seo, Endo/Watanabe).
Add Ranki/Shetty as well. Of all them, it's the minions who give greater challenge. Play hard. Train harder.
Funnily enough, most indonesia fans are actually more confident in daddies than minions to take that gold in tokyo. ofcourse the biggest pressure would still be on the minions though.
