Just watched BWF tv highlights, the first 2 sets were like gladiators duelling, they were both so fired up,power badminton at its best, LZJ should have closed out I thought but probably thinking about the win before he crossed that line. One thing I think is uncanny how much like LZJ is to Chen Long, the movement,the stance and the way he sets before he plays net shots etc...even down to his socks, if he can keep this level up, Malaysia has a superstar.
It's because of his height and stance is what makes him resemble Chen Long, apart from that LZJ is all about all out attack, so devastatingly good.
VA was finished from the 14th point of second set, it is only because of Lee Zii Jia nerves they went to the 3rd. So stamina of VA is extremely bad and yesterdays match was just full of nerves but not long rallies, and it is obvious that VA can play only 1.5/2 sets in normal pace, after that it is just half smashes and waiting as Morten said. Amazing play from Lee Zii Jia, in such composure and level even win in olympics is at sight
He was competitive in MD before the OG, won the AE with JJS. He was actually better in MD at that time as well, imop. Outstanding performance in the 2008 AE SF, go and watch that if you haven't. Real thriller. He still played with LHJ in 2010 at the AE, lost to Zhang/Zhao there in what turned out to be that pair's fairytale tournament to kick off their incredible careers But at that time his MD had far eclipsed his XD, WC silver in 2009, strong Thomas and Sudirman Cup performances, starting to become the cryptonite to Fu/Cai on the regular circuit...
Gill or Morten mentioned that CL was also a very aggressive player in his junior/early senior career, but that it kind of got coached out of him when he got to the ntl. team. I don't actually remember a lot of his matches from back then, but he certainly didn't start out as the defensive wall and consistency monster he was in 2014/15. Their racket technique is fairly different imop, but they have unbelievably similar builds and lower body mechanics. Legs resembling tree trunks, almost skeletal upper body...much different from the likes of AA/VA in that regard, although VA really has packed on some volume in his legs over the years
Morten Frost pointed out that VA has bad stamina though. Given that Morten Frost probably has connections to the Denmark national team, and of course Morten Frost being a world #1 himself before, he probably knows more than us. Stamina is a severe weakness for Viktor and it will make the difference if he encounters LZJ or Momota at the Olympics.
Small correction: Didn't he lose to Widianto/Natsir who played their last tournament together and who then lost the final to Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei? Or am I maybe misremembering it?
No you're right, I misremembered. It's Widianto/Natsir they lost to, I think that was Widianto's last year. I remember being slightly annoyed by LYD/LHJ losing and having no idea who that Chinese pair was, just that ZN looked to have slightly weird technique to me Couldn't quite figure out how a skinny- and unremarkable-looking guy like that could compete at the highest level in badminton...oh well, his smash might look a bit unorthodox to this day, but I guess we all know now his/their performance there wasn't a fluke
I'd instantly agree that MF knows more than any of us about their personality and such, but I really doubt he keeps informed and up-to-date about their physical preparation. I honestly doubt it interests him much (beyond having a general idea, e.g. if someone recovered from an injury/illness etc). I think he bases his assessment on what he can see in the matches, similar to us, also I really doubt Victor has such bad stamina his coaches go complaining about it to commentators What's really hard to judge at times is how much the commentators know about the science and mechanics behind (the) sport. Even some of the current pros aren't very knowledgeable about those things and just follow their coaches' instructions. I won't assume anything about his knowledge, but to me it doesn't seem reasonable to demand VA, who has outstanding strength/explosiveness to allow him to move around as quickly as he does, to also be a stamina powerhouse. The two are not complementary. Compared to even CL, he has considerably more mass to move around - I'd guess 5kg, if not more. He's taller and much more solidly built in the upper body. CL was/is a freak of nature to be both as strong and as enduring as he was, VA will probably have to tune his tactics to fit his physical strengths and gifts rather than trying to match someone like Momota at their core strength. Anyway, going by his record since his ankle surgery, I don't know if anyone would say VA has severe weaknesses
I don't see much resemblance. If anyone, LZJ resembles VA except with better netshot, more deceptive overhead, Chen Long like defense, and better stamina! That's a dangerous combination.
This is a bit confusing, because during/after Thailand, everybody was ecstatic about Axelsen's form and fitness. People posted pictures of his thighs on here, with supposedly much improved muscles. He also reached 3 finals in a row in Thailand, so his stamina is a lot of things, but imo certainly not "extremely bad". Axelsen was also 3-1 up in the third and nearly all points after that were relatively quick, no punishing rallies. If anything, it looked like he had problems with his ankle again.
both players are quite tall, VA maybe slightly taller but not by much (unable to find LZJ stats online). However, VA has a much bigger frame than LZJ and might weigh 5-10kg more. That's a lot of weight to be moving around for more than an hour and on top of that, LZJ often keep VA guessing his shots and VA was more often late and that zaps even more energy and burns out the legs faster. On the other side, LZJ is a bit more nimble and able to use his length to his benefit.
Yes also Chen Long is much nicer to look at, in terms of balance and technique. LZJ seems to be out of balance sometimes, but obviously his hard smash helps him in those situations.
I don't find VA great to watch, personally - he seems awkward and graceless, to me. Giraffe-like. (And I know it's not his fault, but he's too tall, and it's too much of an advantage.)