In a way it is about who has the most mental strength, but not in the way we normally associate it. LCW didn't freeze, choke or blow his chance. LD show a steely determination and strength of mind that we have never seen before from him. No excuses guys, LCW played well. LD played better.
pene This is what I call a pro coach perspective. Am trying to train my boys hard on it too. I wish I have a few LD in my team. hehe
Still mental strength... I like to make this example... Most of us drive a car rite? Under normal situation we had no problem at all to "smoothly " fasten our sit belt...Agree?. Ok, the situation change when we forgot to fasten the seat belt & so unfortune being spot by policemen man..Our first re-action is quickly fasten the belt. Now, the "problem" comes. We are panic & the seat belt tense to "lock up" due to our over reaction... So, do u mean that under normal situation i perform better? or my skill is in a higher level?? No rite? I have all the skill to fasten the seat belt.. Is all my mantel that causes me not able to fasten my seat belt...
Two different things, for you, you can choose to remain calm and quickly put on your seat belt and that's it. For LCW, he couldn't beat through LD at all. Take a look at the game again when you can, LD can return most of LCW's smashes to the net with ease. For LCW to score, he needs to smash and charge to tap the smash return. But if he charges carelessly, LD may choose to send the shuttle right to the back again and that would put LCW into a rushed position. So in conclusion LCW cannot always play smash and charge to tap. As a result he can only play smash and net again most of the time, which LD lifts up again without consideration as he is FULLY confident that he can take LCW's smashes with ease. LCW also knows this and so he tried to play a faster rally game and because of that he made mistakes. Look at Peter Gade's comment after he played LD, he said he was forced to play faster which was hard to do without making mistakes. Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/badminton/n214543562.shtml
I totally agree with mental strength...U can see that LD has the strength...Full with confidence...Not CHong Wei din played well, but he just lacking mental strength...
(BEIJING, August 17) -- Men's Singles World No. 1 Lin Dan of China thrashed Malaysia's World No. 2 Lee Chong-wei 21-12, 21-8 to win the gold in the Beijing Olympic Badminton tournament on Sunday, August 17. The anticipated heart-pounding dream final turned out to be a frustrating exit for Lee, who was bidding for Malaysia's first Olympic gold. "I suffered a lot of pressure tonight but I do not want to use it as an excuse for my defeat," he said. Maybe it was the pressure that made a normally sharp Lee lose his edge on court and essentially provide no match for Super Dan's quickly-adapted strategies and crosscourt smashes. In the first game Lin raced into a 7-1 lead. Eager to close the gap, Lee made too many unforced errors, enabling the World No. 1 to stretch his winning margin to 16-8 before closing out the game 21-12. Lin continued to attack Lee in the second game, opening up an 8-0 lead and forcing his opponent to chase shuttles to all four corners of the court before killing rallies off with his smash. As the game progressed, Lee simply had no answers to Lin's speed and the Chinese left-hander closed out the match in just 41 minutes. "I have tried my best but Lin Dan played perfectly tonight," said Malaysian sport icon Lee. "I couldn't match his shuttle speed. He was much stronger than me and controlled the whole match." "At the end of the match it is not who is playing at a higher level, it is all about who is mentally stronger," Lee commented on his loss. "I felt a lot of pressure playing in front of my home crowd," said an exhilarated Lin. "I thought it would be difficult to play the match and the pressure of the crowd might even be to my disadvantage, but I played well. Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/badminton/n214556638.shtml
LD is not mentally stronger than LCW, I think LCW mentally exhausted after LD's 1st several points lead consecutively at the beginning & frequent change of birds also distracts LCW's concentration, since skills level & abilities of both players are very similar.
Yeah totally unfair of LD to win the first few points in each game and disrupt LCW. Is that allowed, can someone check the rules?
could be misbun's fault, he didn't train lcw how to handle pressure and strategy when lcw is not leading. LCW only plays well when he leading is what i'm hearing here
I just want to say to everyone to see the match before saying this or that, because with just the score you can't say many things. To me, it looks like this : this was an olympic badminton final, and Lin Dan was ready for that. I think he did a great match, maybe the best for him. Lee chong wei played as always, he played very well, but to win an olympic final, you have to play better than "very well".
Not a great match but that was due to Lin Dan's dominance. He played like never before and Chong Wei was trying his best which in turn resulted in making errors. But he had not much choice, either go for it or play safe and into Lin Dan's hands. Still, first silver for Malaysia in singles and the only way is up.
please don't see this question of mine as anti-boleh fans but honestly may i ask u who would be coming after LCW to carry on your way up??
Seriously, I am awaiting for X Ball detail full page report of how a 100% in form LCW lose to LD. Must be interesting to read.
Very well said. And I think most of the people, if not all, would agree with me that LD has played the best game of his career. The score does not reflect how good this game was, but instead of a neck to neck game, this game has shown the strongest determination of a badminton player, a true champion.
"... skills level & abilities of both players are very similar." Yeah, I can see that. It's almost like my daily driving skills compared to the Formula F1 drivers. Just step on the gas and steer. -dave
Exactly. A good game is not always the games that are three setters finishing 21-23, 24-22, 27-29. They are exciting, but not neccessarily the best.
Just watched the final. Damn what a disppointment. AFter all the trouble to: a) get the NBC, ultrasurf combo going only to have it freeze due to slow connection and then b) downloading it from HOrizon NL's site I got a tame 2 game match w/ total domination by LD. I was expecting a classic either 3 great games or 2 tight matches. Agree w/ Egg Fu - this is a new level for LD, but I don't feel LCW played anywhere to his potential. The crowd and the moment got to him which already left him 5 points down. LD also did not let him establish any rhythm which is LCW's natural style and biggest strength. Fast quick points, w/ lots of held lifts. Unlike the LCW vs. Lee Hyun Il match LD stayed away from the net and attacked at any openning in the mid & rear court. He rarely made any protracted exchanges at net. The m ajority of his drops occurred only when LCW was coming from the opposite corner. In essence LD gave LCW no time to use his skills and kept varying the pace and placement. So in that respect LCW did play like LCW, once his rhythm was broken he couldn't recover. Some of the blame for the one sided final has to fall on Misbun for not preparing LCW properly or making adjustments. Gold Medal for China but disappointing final for the fans.