A few observations of my own: 1. The lighting this year was much better than previous years. In the past, the court was so bright such that I had a hard time watching. Now it is perfect (kinda like All England). The background is dark, so the players can perform better too (except for the flash photography). 2. Zhang Nan worst nightmare has come true. He didn't win anything AND he is injured. Fortunately, it is still early in the qualification cycle. 3. Viktor is a rising star. I think he will surpass the achievements of Peter Gade one day. BTW, Chinese Women's Singles is still in the doldrums. Will XXZ take over?
In Singapore and in WC Viktor gave hard time to CL. And now to LD. He is becoming a real menace. So at the next Thomas Cup, Den will be a serious challenger.
LD has sent a positive message to CBA and LYB that he is still in the business regarding RIO'16 despite the terrible loss in world championship 2015. I must say it is not easy to win this Japan open title for him. He has to beat all the very top players from Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Denmark as well as THW who is competing with him for RiO'16 ticket. I wish LD can play one more year of good badminton. Despite dropping in stamina which certainly limit his pace and jump smash, he is still can beat the younger top players. Many people thought Victor was not playing well in the second half of the decider. However, I think it is not Victor problem (who has played a fantastic game to keep it close) but it is more LD up the pace and shift his gear to next level that closed the gap and overtook victor. I must say I really miss old LD which was so fast, so powerful and so accurate in his placement. May be we have no chance to see old LD again but hope we can see the new LD to give us more passion in Badminton in months to come.