If I'm not wrong, XXF after finishing her masters degree (in sociology, iirc) at Beijing University is now holding a full-time job (forgot what it is and where I read it).
Yeah,The author said that he had never seen any other player with such wrist power LOL.At last he also mentioned that to him too,He is the best ever.....To me,LD sealed his undisputed GOAT status winning London Olympics.If would have lost that final,then things about his GOAT status would not be that smooth,You can say as smooth as Federer's GOAT status though....
justin, wonder no more as his other blog re Lin Dan covered until July 15. http://badmintoncrazy.com/2015/07/
The problem now is Lin Dan has won too much, his accomplishments, been there and done that too many times, so much so there's really no more peaks for him to conquer - gunning for a third Olympic gold is like breaking his own record as he is the first and only one with two Olympic golds. If he had achieved only , say, 2 WC and 1 OG, I believe his drive and motivation to scale new heights would undoubtedly be much greater. Then I'm sure all this R1 and other early exits, humiliating defeats, unexpected losses and fitness issue (not training as hard as before) - would probably be absent to a large extent. This year alone, so far, already 10 dismal flops , the worst performance in his career, with only one JPN SS title to show for. His previous bad record was 8 losses in 2007 when he still won the WC, and beat Taufik 3 times, 2 wins and 2 losses vs LCW, but lost 2x to Park Sung Hwan, and once each to Bao Chunlai, Boonsak Ponsana and Peter Gade, and retired one match to Simon Santoso. Besides the WC crown, he also won the KOR Open, German Open, The All England, The China Masters, and was part of the Chinese winning team at the Sudirman Cup - all in 2007. Just look at some of his peers, those 30 years and older, for example, Lee CW, Wei Nan, Hu Yun, Boonsak Ponsana, Sho Sasaki, Lee Hyun Il, Marc Zwiebler, none of them really showing any sign of slowing down, they are as hungry as ever for success despite not winning any big one yet. LCW, like Lin Dan, also has his own private business(es) and commercial activites but he didn't allow it to distract him from his unswerving goal in badminton. Essentially, it all boils down to motivation.
The LWSAS has traditionally been dominated by sports popular in Western Europe or middle North America, if you get my drift.....
Agreed with that. He had shown the world that nobody but him will stop him from getting what he wants. If he really wants the third gold, he will gun for it.
I am surprised that he is playing Brazil Open instead of Macau Open. Trying to get used to the conditions that early? http://www.bwfbadminton.org/tournamentcalendar_event.aspx?id=25369
I hope so, that's he's going to Rio GP to get used to the conditions, have a feel of it, early acclimatization (too early?), and not for publicity's sake. Maybe it's Yonex who requires him to go as part of their bid for Olympic sponsorship.
Some of the other best quotes on Lin Dan ''He is our flag bearer and role model to all of us in the National Team'' ~ Zhao Yunlei "He is definitely a Genius. Shuttlers can’t think of doing what Lin Dan did. He actually took a break for a year after 2012 (London) Olympics and then came back to the circuit and won the World Championships in 2013. It is great. I don’t think anyone can do that." ~ Kidambi Srikanth ''There are other shuttlers who are great but he is simply Outstanding.Players must take inspiration from him" ~ Marc Zwiebler..... ''I hope he continues to play and inspire others'' ~ Parupalli Kashyap....... Anyone who thinks,these are fake quotes,can challenge me openly..........
LD is not going downhill, but rather, the hunger is going downhill. he has all the skill sets. who knows, come olympics, maybe he will get hungry, or maybe not as much as before.
I don't think he will win the Olympics. My bet is on Chen Long. LD is avoiding him in tournaments lately and wisely so, he knows that he is his biggest threat. He lost the last two meetings and does not want to lose his positive H2H and - more importantly - the psychological advantage. Their last meeting was very telling, LD could win a very close first game and was having a tough time then in the second and third set. He was trying everything, but nothing was working; CL's defense and court-coverage was just too good. Chen Long was made running the long diagonals time and time again and had no problems whatsoever - always in fine balance and no sign of fatigue. Unless LD changes his game completely till the Olympics I cannot see him beat Chen Long. But to be honest, there's not much he can do - age is an unbeatable opponent. Also there are a lot of other players who have beaten him at least once now, which will seek the opportunity to cause an upset. I'm wondering if they (LD and CL) still train separately or still don't play matches in training? Maybe someone can give some insights...
It's quite obvious that Lin Dan doesn't play his best at the moment. I'm pretty sure that he will try to change his style a few months before the Olympics. It's not over yet, he's too clever.
I guess is over now, World championship he fail to do it, World super series premier in Dec i doubt he will get it also.