I think it's too far away to judge now... How about Bona/Ahsan? They are improving now Lately, they beat KKK/TBH, MK/HS, Boe/Mogensen, and CB/GZ .. Of course it's still a long way to go for them. But I'll cheer them.. I also hope JJS/LYD will be successfull in OG 2012
Cai-Fu looks like a clear favourite to win it but lately we have seen some inconsistencies in their game particularly when they played against other pairs. Some pairs were able to stretch them to a rubber set which is very worrying to LYB. Maybe LYB has resigned to the fact that men's double the hardest category for China to gain the gold medal so he is hoping his charges can go as far as possible to secure a medal at least. If you want to know which pair will win, it's going to Matthias Boe and Mogensen! They are unstoppable at the moment.
The margins are so small in Mens doubles today, that all top-10 pairs have a decent chance of winning with some "flow" and some luck. In terms of skills/odds Cai/Fu and LYD/JJS is above the rest imop. But on a good day, yes Boe/Mogensen, Kido/Setiawan, KKK/TBH, Koo/Yoo or even JR/CP could win OG.
Kido/Setiawan should start worrying about qualification first before even thinking of defending their title, it would be embarrassing indeed to see an Olympic champion failing to qualify for the main draw. They are playing VERY badly nowadays and their WINNING tactics/weapons are no longer working against many pairs. Every pair knows how to counter them now so my take would be even if they managed to qualify, they are not expected to go far. JJS and LYB are the most difficult pair to beat ONLY in the SS circuit, on paper they always performed below expectations in major tournaments. I supposed a bronze or silver is achievable for them. JJS recently struggled to recover from his shoulder injury plus with his current age, it's difficult for LYD to progress. KKK/TBH: How many times do we want to be let down by them again and again? Chokers of 21st century. It will be a huge miracle if they even survived the round robin play. Cai-Fu: China's best and ONLY bet for the gold medal. They have been vulnerable to several pairs and there's a possibility for them to be defeated by anyone and things would not go according to their way, they will lose for sure. They aren't invincible after all. Mogensen and Boe: I have strong gut feeling they are destine to win it. When it comes to tournaments like the Olympics, they have the psychological edge and will play their opponents' weaknesses to their advantage. Brilliant but dirty tacticians who play mind games.
I would like a gold for Denmark, but their performance have been very inconsistent, apart from SSF and AE 2011 they have really not performed last year.
I really don't want the gold for Denmark to come from Boe/Mogensen. If they meet in the final against CY/FHF, I'll be rooting for the China pair all the way. Don't discount CB/GZD, BoSan too (although BoSan has yet to win an SS I dare say they have a good chance of getting a medal of any colour)
Chai Biao and Guo ZhenDong are not up to scratch yet but yes I should not discount them for Chai Biao's sake (he is young after all and has plenty to learn). BoSan are not the chosen ones because they have too many areas to improve for example their defence and lack of innovation in their attacks.
I'm surprised that Boe/Mogensen won 3 ss premier titles in 2011. I still doubt the Olympic gold medal would go to them. They haven't even gotten a medal of any color in the world championships. I also doubt that Ko/Yoo, Chai/Guo or Ahsan/Septano will get it, since in these big events experience matters a lot, and usually it's the youngsters who fall out first. Ko/Yoo has a better chance out of the three pairs since they've reached the World Championships final this year. My best bet is still Cai/Fu or Jung/Lee. But I have a feeling that if Cai/Fu doesn't reach the final, Jung/Lee isn't going to win the gold either, pretty counter-intuitive...but look at what happened at China Open and SS finals, Jung/Lee is out as soon as Cai/Fu is out, looool.
I agreed with most of the people here that CY/FHF or JJS/LYD has the best chance to win the 2012 OG MD gold medals although both pairs look a bit tired since end of 2011. But I'm sure they will get back in peak forms closer to the time.
I still have this un-easy feeling about Cai-Fu's Olympics prospect in London, they are having a lot of difficult matches against most pairs in normal tournaments. I am not so sure if they could carry on with the fine run until July, CY has aged with so many bandages seen around his body.. LYD and JJS have the best chance to win it and break their jinx for not performing well in major tourneys. I reckon the pair won't win if Lee Yong Dae decides to venture into XD to defend his gold four years ago. That will take a huge toll on his physical state..
It's ridiculous to say Cai/Fu are having a lot of difficult against MOST pairs. Since beginning of 2009, Cai/Fu have only lost to 6 different pairs. That is in 3 years!!! I doubt anyone else in MD have this record. Not to say, out of the 6 pairs, 3 of them only had a one time win against Cai/Fu.
I'm doubt about their performance right now. They are kinda like lacking of concentration. And I hope they can fixed their problem. At the meantime, the Koreans pair is getting better and better. But today, after they beat the another Koreans pair in straight set, I feel like, wow they're trying to make a comeback! And if they can performed well against the number one Koreans pair tomorrow and win it, I will salute them for destroying my doubt.
And yet here again, we are treated to a fantastic men's doubles final in Korea Open 2012 courtesy of LYD/JJS and CY/FHF. Surely one of these pairs will become Olympic2012 MD Champions. NO one else in te world seem to be able to touch these two pairs.
Cai-Fu was not the best pair to win the Olympics back in Beijing. They were VERY fortunate to even reach the final with easy opponents in their draw. The pair that we all thought WOULD definitely clinch the GOLD was none other than Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Boong. Unfortunately, as Malaysian history repeats itself, they cant seem to let go of their ego and arrogance to concentrate in Bigger tournaments eventually the Hot-headed, conceited Koo Kien Keat led the pair to their own downfall. The year was the BEST opportunity for them to win but they screwed it up big time. Lee Yongdae was too young at that time hence he and JJS couldn't cope with the pressure playing OG hence their defeat in early rounds were quite expected and acceptable. Hendra and Kido were the worthy Champions and they deserved it more than Cai-Fu. They played tougher pairs and a risky strategy that could go either their way or vice versa. Cai - Fu didn't not prepare well and did their homework properly before the OG. Their defense and netplay were no comparison to how Hendra read the shuttle at the Net so they were totally clueless about the game. The defeat taught them a very valuable and expensive lesson to improve their game and now they are giving another shot at the Olympics. With Cai's age and Fu's declining speed, it seems too late for them to peak during the OG and most pairs are getting stronger in every tournament and never failed to improve each time. JJS is a very bad shape at the moment, he is defintely the weakest link in the Korean pair whom could be exploited by any pair to win points if they are up for it!
Jesus Lee Yong-dae got a gold medal, If that was him being to young and not coping, god help the other players.
When they were top seed in MD, they were outplayed by veteran pair Jonas and Paaske. That's Olympic pressure which they felt while being top seed. Lee Yongdae eventually went on to win OG in XD as an unseeded player, he learnt from his previous defeat not too long ago and bounced back strongly to surprise everyone in the XD. We will see more from him in the coming LOG.
well, the big question now is this... will LYD play in both MD and XD in OG2012? when will a decision be made? if LYD were to play only in one disciplince, i think a decision should be made now...
They were not top seed not even second seed (have a look at the draw) it was 1 kido & setiawan 2 Cai & Fu. But ok i take your point they felt pressuure, like everyone else.
