Don't worry we have many young and capable replacements. I'm sure our regular BC reporter from KL will once again do service from atop the stadium to send out prompt and regular reports. He has no one to disturb him, so he can concentrate. As for the absence of the top CHN players, I think LYB is still not happy that his blue-eyed boy was booed by SIN fans last year when LD gave a walk over to CJ. We all know the reason.
Ha! I can picture it now: On the roof with laptop, linked by a strong cable to the huge antenna, braving the winds and sun to sned out signals and messages to the legions of BC troops all arond the wolrd! It crossed my mind, too. I wouldn't be surprised to find out you are right. This is all the fault of those morons over at BWF. Chris' crusade for an International Badminton Player's Federation is beginning to look more and more attractive to me, frankly.
With TH as the inaugural President perhaps. On second thoughts, to be effective negotiating with BWF, we may need a veteran who is fluent in English. And PG comes to mind immediately.
PHG for President!!! Ooohh! Thoughts of secession, dark plans and delicious subterfuge!! Somehow it feels familiar... The IBPF can adopt the rankings system from BWF with a few modifications, and then run the Open calendar. BWF can run the TC/UC, AG, OG, CWG, SC, EC and all that stuff that pits nation against nation. With separate rankings. The BWF World Championships will be replaced by the IBPF Masters Finals. And finally, pigs will be seen over the Battersea station once again...
And she truly deserved it...while the attentions are focused on Wang Yihan and Wang Xin's runup in the Olympics, this innocent silent assassin is lurking in the corner of the draw waiting to destroy everyone in her way to the semi.
Zhang Ning commented that LXR has two problems: stamina and lack of experience. http://sports.qq.com/a/20120607/000116.htm
Hmmmm.... sounds a bit like smoke and mirrors.... I don't think stamina is really an issue. She has outlasted most others in 3-game matches, in fact grown stronger as the matche progressed, even in crunch situations. As for experience, well, that is corrected with.... experience!
Said with pinpoint accuracy. Stamina even if suspect can be built by physical training and experience will be accumulated over time. Isn't ZN as good as saying LXR has no real weaknesses or she's simply not saying and blowing smoke?
As for LXR's strong point, ZN briefly said:" She has an offensive (attacking) style of play, more aggressive (than others)." The article also mentioned Li Yongbo in his microblog had stated that the following three SEA tourneys,namely Thai GPG, INA SSp and SG SS would have bearings on the WS OG selection final decision. However,ZN downplayed that point by saying they serve only as a minor test and not a decisive factor. She explained that the OG is a major event that requires consideration of the mental state, condition,and other aspects, a particular period's performance isn't the main determinant,the coaching team will take an overall view. -- hope I understood the article correctly and translated it right. (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, for those who can read Chinese).
thanks, Justin. Uber was supposed to be the most decisive. But we hardly saw LXR and WSX played. And WYH almost bombed it again. btw, how does LYB or ZN assess the mental state or condition of a player?
You're most welcome. I guess for the mental aspect they will seek the sport psychologists' assessment, as for the players' condition the coaches and trainers should decide and take the last 6-9 months results,not too far back,into account.
LXR is in the second quadrant of the main draw of the Indonesia Open SSP. She only needs to hold steady to go past her challengers and into the semis, where in all likelihood, she will meet once again, with Wang Yihan. From there on, it's anyone's guess what happens!
As her coach Zhang Ning pointed out correctly,LXR's lack of experience is a drawback,her weakness at the moment,esp in big match situations. In today's match vs Saina at the INA Open 2012 Final, she played brilliantly in G1 with a devastating win by a score of 21-13 and we all thought she was going to trounce Saina. Then unexpectedly and inexplicably she was unrecognisable in G2 committing so many uncharacteristic errors to practically throw the game away despite crawling back to deuce. It was as if ,she suddenly took her foot off the pedal after a relatively easy win in G1, allowing Saina to gain points due to her series of errors - never have I seen her so erratic - and in the end the deuce went in Saina's favour giving her a lifeline. In G3,LXR surprisingly still played with insufficient intensity and urgency though somewhat better than G2;however,her proneness to error improved but not enough and Saina kept her hopes alive and in the end managed to edged her out by a 2-point margin 21-19 to take the match. LXR's apparent nonchalance throughout the match , maybe I misunderstood her body language,somewhat nonplussed me - why didn't she up an extra gear as I believe she could in G2 and G3 or at least cut down those simple errors, what's holding her back,where's her will to win? - were thoughts running through my mind. To Saina's credit,she hung in there,never giving up and finally managed to outlast LXR for a deserved win, any lesser player would have succumbed to LXR after her intimidating display in G1. Whatever it is,let's hope she gained a valuable lesson and experience from that match to stand her in good stead in future and learn to better cope with the mental aspect of her game. All in all,seen in perspective,it wasn't such a bad result - her 5th final in a SSP after 4 consecutive tournament victories;perhaps we expected too much from her. I'm sure she will emerge stronger going forward, the London Olympics which I believe she's bound for is a golden opportunity to redeem herself and shine even brighter than ever.I have faith in her and it is based on knowledge of her capabilities,not wishful thinking. I trust what I wrote here are not mere words of encouragement, LXR will live up to expectations and deliver gloriously.
lol. Some one will bash you. You don't look like a badminton player by the way you sound. 'Kid'. She did win didn't she? You also call wmc win is a fluke? Home pressure?
Saina kept hitting to LXR's body today. LXR couldn't defend well when the shuttle is near her body (kinda like Taufik and many other Indonesian players).
