Lin Dan has won just 1 out of 8 deuce games he has played this year with the pathetic winning Percentage of 12.5 %. The only deuce game he won was against Chen Long of People's Republic of China by 23-21. Is he really mentally tough nowadays ? @j4ckie @Rob3rt
Personally I would probably blame that on his age and physical limits...I do have the feeling that he often doesnt care much about the outcome of the match. An exception would be the SF match at the China Open, I'm sure he really wanted to win that match and just got outplayed by LCW.
He lost not for lack of mental toughness, but more due to other issues, most of which we know, eg sluggish, passive, lower stamina, no motivation, other ideas. Yeah, that CHN Open loss, 19-21 in the decider, when he was leading most of the way, hurt him;post-match he said he felt uneasy with that defeat, the more so when he could have won in two straight sets. A more determined , more motivated, better prepared,and in better shape Lin Dan, minus all the other distractions off-court, would be a different story. Look towards Rio.
Yeah, I'm with j4ckie on that one. He does not seem really motivated against lesser opponents nowadays, only against Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long he really wants to win. Also stamina problems could play a part, but that's an easy problem to fix come the Olympics. I don't think he lost his mental toughness.
Apparently he has been running since 2012, according to photo evidence posted in this thread So remove stamina from your list of possible problems...
Yeah, but in most of these pics he's wearing his old yellow Li-Ning shoes. I don't know if you noticed, but he's with Yonex now.
That orange shoes used for running are the new Yonex LD shoes. That pic was updated yesterday in Weibo. Feather was referring to stamina as in running.
Actually, from what I've gathered, since London 2012, Lin Dan has not been training as hard as before, that personal trainer he engaged is to help him maintain his condition as much as possible without deteriorating considerably during his long hiatuses. In fact,as we know, Lin Dan has specifically requested and granted permission by Li Yongbo to have a new training regimen structured to suit his needs taking into account his growing age and personal wants, emphasizing quality over quantity, implying lesser intensity and fewer hours. Not only that, remember, after Lin Dan's humiliating defeat by JOJ at the WC'15, Li Yongbo criticised him for lacking the hunger to win and said he would personally get involved in Lin Dan's training, specifically mentioning the fitness aspect, motivation issue aside (which I doubt LYB could do much about). For me, I'm hoping that LYB would arrange for Grandmaster Tang Xianhu to spend some time on personally coaching Lin Dan and ,perhaps, Chen Long, Li Xuerui and Wang Yihan as well. I believe what the Old Master could bring to them, esp the latter three who've never benefited from his mentoring, is invaluable. However, I doubt TXH, who is comfortably settled in LYB's Dongguan Academy as Deputy Head Coach and considering his advanced age, 74 years old already, and health concerns (he's had heart surgery), would want to travel far away and to a new environment, it might take a toll on him.
Can anyone enlighten me on how Lin Dan modified his Smash technique after 2011 World Championship which lasted till 2012 London Olympics. To me,his Smash was at his all time peak from the last few months of 2011 till the London Olympics.It simply exploded like never before. If you compare his smash from 2011 Korea Open to 2012 Korea Open, you can see the obvious difference which IMO earned him the Olympics.
Personally I think his best smashing days were between the 2008 Olympics and the 2009 All England, maybe until the 2010 Thomas Cup. I saw no difference between 2011 and 2012 LD.
Just because his movement on the way there was slower doesnt mean the smash was 'heavy' or sth But I might have a little look at both Olympic Finals to compare them....
To me, Lin Dan in Beijing 2008 represents the epitome of badminton of the highest order, superlative, a yardstick or benchmark for all. In my opinion, Lin Dan's best , his heyday, is from 2007, Beijing'08 is the pinnacle, to London 2012. Age-wise from 24, 25 is his prime, to 29. His motivation also at the apex in 2008. If these few years he were to reproduce the form and condition of that unsurpassed period, I'm afraid both LCW and Chen Long would have to step aside, needless to say for the rest.
With all the praising of LD, people should not forget about the 'version' of LCW he was playing in that Olympic final. Yes, LD was very fast, yes, his smashes very powerful. But, LCW's style of play was very defensive back then, not at all an offensive game like today. He developed the offensive side of his game later on, whereas LD was playing an aggressive fast-paced game from the moment he burst onto the world scene. What I'm trying to say is that LCW's lifts, clears and even blocks at the Olympics 2008 against LD were sometimes woefully short or too high above the net, sometimes even half-court lifts, which helped LD to finish it off. If LD of 2008 played the LCW of 2011-2012, I highly doubt the result would be as convincing as in Bejing.
That is true. Yet on the other hand, LCW's defense was probably at its peak in 2008 or 2009, with very few players being able to get weak defensive blocks out of him. That Lin Dan did so is testimony of his attacking capabilities in that era. And yeah, LCW had a tiring match against LHI in the SF, but still...the way he got outplayed in that Final was unreal. Anyhow. Personally I would say LD's absolute prime ended somewhere in 2010, as he was fairly beatable (by his standards) in parts of 2011 and 2012, but his WC and OG preparation was spot on in both years.
If LCW's defense was at its peak in 2008/9, then at that Beijing '08, I'd like to say Lin Dan's aggressive relentless attack, the sheer speed and power, was such as to riddle LCW's armour. Simply put, Lin Dan's overwhelming attacks and superb defense preempted most of LCW's attacks, resulting in a lop-sided match where he was rendered helpless and clueless. Either we agree with Morten Frost who described Lin Dan's game as awesome, the best he has ever seen, or thought LCW too defensive. I believe it was after that stunning defeat that LCW realized the importance of developing a more offensive game. By the way, I recall that Peter Gade in the Beijing'08 semifinal was very proactive, ever ready to go on the attack but was repelled time and again by Lin Dan's defense and counterattacks in addition to his usual terrific offense. As such, I'm inclined to think that Lin Dan didn't allow LCW to be too offensive even if he wanted to. Then, what about the Lin Dan vs LCW Thomas Cup 2010 semifinal face-off held in Kuala Lumpur won by Lin Dan, 21-17 and 21-8 ? To me, it's one of their several epic battles .Also the encounters in 2009, namely, All England'09 LD beat LCW 21-19 and 21-12, Sudirman Cup'09 LD beat LCW 21-16 and 21-16, CHN Masters SS'09 LD beat LCW 22-20, 15-21, and 21-7, though at Swiss Open SS'09, it was LCW who won 21-16, 21-16 ? Worth noting is that between them, in 2009, LD won 3 of 4 meetings, 3 - 1 ; in 2010, LD won 2 - 0 ; in 2011, LD won 5 - 1 ; in 2012, LD won 2 - 1 ; that is , during the period when LCW has developed into a highly offensive player. What happened post-London'12 is a different story. Still, incidentally,if the score mattered, Lin Dan - off his prime and less attacking or, should I say, more defensive, even passive - was able to drub LCW, 21-17 and 21-10, at the JPN Open SS'15.
My implication is that throughout their careers, Lin Dan has occasionally been able to inflict crushing or comprehensive defeats on LCW irrespective of the latter's more offensive or defensive game, as follows: a) 2005 Yonex Hong Kong Open = 15-4 and 15-6 b) 2008 Swiss Super Series = 21-13 and 21-18 c) 2008 Beijing Olympics = 21-12 and 21-8 d) 2008 China Open Super Series = 21-18 and 21-9 e) 2009 All England Super Series = 21-19 and 21-12 f) 2009 Li Ning Sudirman Cup, Grp 1 Final Stage = 21-16 and 21-16 g) 2010 Thomas Cup, semifinals = 21-17 and 21-8 h) 2011 Hong Kong Open Super Series = 21-16 and 21-14 h) 2015 Japan Open Super Series = 21-17 and 21-10
