I agree with everything you wrote. It is obvious that these shuttles are much faster than those from last week. Just look at the number of too long lifts and the average match duration. Shuttle speed varies and of course some speeds suit some players better than others. The best players are indeed those that are able to adjust. But that doesn’t mean that a player can’t have a preferred shuttle speed. VA is best with the slower shuttles. Bonus info regarding the test: The guys in the Danish studio (which includes Joachim Fischer) tested the shuttles after the first day of matches. They said it landed around 100mm short of the back line. I would not be surprised if they change to a slower shuttle tomorrow.
Just watched the video. English is clearly not his primary language (I am presuming it must be Hindi, but he was trying his best). Doesnt look like he meant any disrespect to anybody although there could be some wrong choice of words.
I don't think his remarks come across as disrespectful to Momota, Axelsen or LZJ. LCW/LD were very dominant players at their peak, and there was a huge divide between them and other players. Now the next crop of players are capable of beating the likes of Momota and LZJ. (Though Axelsen is becoming harder and harder to beat)...
I'm quite disappointed, but I think his game is ok. Nishimoto should treasure every single point. He lost 2-3 points unfortunately by mistake (clear shoot was out or wrong in-out judge) and this can result to win or lose a game. Anyway, there is French Open with a second chance for him, I hope Nishimoto will do better.
I think they have just done a bad job in this case. And the players are not allowed to test the shuttle before their first match so the speed came as a surprise to them. BUT.. the shuttle has actually been changed now. During the evening matches today, the referee table actually initiated some shuttle testing in between two matches on court 2. They performed the official shuttle test as described earlier, and it showed a shuttle that was way too fast. Afterwards they filled all the shuttle stands with different shuttles. I am not an expert on Victor shuttles but they said they changed from "78" to "77". The shuttle testing happened only after the host of the Danish TV production asked the referee table if they had considered changing the shuttle, because many players had expressed that the shuttles were very very fast. So from now on the shuttle speed should be as the rules prescribe. Whether it is still considered a fast shuttle I don't know. But it is a bit embarrassing that the shuttle speed was not tested properly before tournament start.
It helps that he's 1.94m tall... I think I'd be staring at his navel if I were to meet him! Sent from my SM-G988W using Tapatalk
there’s a risk if you want to net play with VA, you have to be extremely precise and not giving him a chance to counter with another tight net play as it will end up with you giving a lift and he end it with his forte. tough player to beat now.
I also don't see anything wrong with Sameer's remarks. However, there is a big difference between beating 2021 LZJ or Momota and beating 2018/19 Momota. If we look at men's singles in the past 2 years, the general level has dropped quite a bit. So many players were unable to train properly (the first two tournaments in Thailand this year were really hard to watch in terms of quality), get match practice from the few tournaments that actually took place, or couldn't even participate in the first place (China). Chen Long was only present for the Olympics, CTC's not getting younger, SWH is gone, AA is suffering visibly from LongCovid, SYQ is still struggling to get back to form, Momota has dropped a lot and might not get back to his best ever, SK has been getting worse and worse (even though there may be an upswing at the moment?), JC hasn't shown anything since the AG, Ginting is inconsistent, and the only talents breaking through are KV and LSF, who are still non-factors in men's singles. So Sameer is right when he says that top players are beatable, because the "world elite", if you will, isn't as good as it used to be before 2020.
Well, a string of retired players and some shuttlers show below par performance in first round indicating physical fitness level have been declined, thanks to hectic schedule of major events but none is to be blamed here as pandemic impact has intervened extremely. Anthony Ginting suffers waist injury meanwhile The Daddies on their career twilight, lost tamely to younger opponents Lamsfuss/Seidel, faster and powerful in terms of their offensive shots. Men's singles strong contenders, Momota & Axelsen progress without much problem also Christie, Chou TC as well safely through into last sixteen. In battle of hard smashes, Lee Zii Jia survives at the end to tackle Wang Tzu Wei, both players can't control the drift well as the shuttlecock pushed wide frequently. It's not a big surprise that Ratchanon Intanon got early exit here, the Thai star is lack of intesinve training after experienced mourning period due to her mother passed away. Akane Yamaguchi was forced to work extra hard by Line Kjaersfeldt who played excellent in opening game, challenging the Japanese in net play, constructing the rallies to make her rival running corner to corner then punished with sharp smash. The momentum swings in last part of second game when the Dane produced unforced errors while Yamaguchi staying composed and good control, then lopsided fashion in final game. ROUND OF 16 - LIVE TV COVERAGE
Yes, World Championships. Some CHN players have mentioned they'll be back in 世锦赛 through their social media Weibo platform (Zheng SW, Huang YQ, Chen YF, etc.). Well, BWF World Championships is always be important agenda for CBA alongside OG, TUC, SC.
It's because its difficult to do accurate netshots for 10 points let alone 21 points. Otherwise Ginting will have done it against Axelsen again and again. Just like how its difficult to keep lifting and lifting and playing defense in MD especially when you are already 4-6 points behind, there is no point doing the tough things anymore. Only Yuta/Endo can do that against Minions. and that, for the fact Gideon isnt the strongest smasher. If you have prime Ahsan/FHF, i'm sure it will hardly work as well (it still ends up in many rubber games) and that is prime Axelsen basically. Actually going on attack if the best way in MD.
Dunno whether the shuttle is faster here but LZJ seemed to be troubled by it as the bearings of his shots against WTZW were off . Luckily he used his brains a bit in the end and played some soft shots away from the net and mixed it up with his power smashes . I guess the speed of the shuttle contributed in the fast drop of the shuttles during net exchanges which WTZW capitalised to trouble LZJ. As for Sai 's observation.... a 2012 LCW and 2008 - 2009 LD would definitely tower above the top 5 singles today. Remember 2017 LCW could still whoop Ginting Jonathan Chou . Maybe VA and KM could trouble LCW in 2017 but the rest could not. VA today may have reach LCW 2016 and 2017. But not LCW 2009-2012.
One thing is for sure - these three players are no where near their peak - Momota and Ginting (so far from what they were) and SYQ as well.