You guys know what's NEXT-- 2 down and 1 more to go.. After the Thomas and Sudirman Cup, it's time for the UBER CUP to leave China!
When KOR toppled CHN in Uber Cup 2010, China still had Thomas Cup also Sudirman Cup as well. Now, the two trophies have already gone, only Uber Cup left. Most likely yes unless the defending champion women's department has tremendous progress in next twelve months.
A heart-pumping final, the battle of mental game when the underdog Korean players have stronger confidence than their more fancied opponent,1-2 trailed behind the Koreans bounced back and shocked star-studded team China, 3-2, congratulations! What a proud achievement by Korea new head coach Kang Kyung Jin. When the scoreline displayed 2-1 up for China advantage after the king of defense Chen Long frustrated Jeon Hyeok Jin, on paper scenario China could seal 3-1 through Chen QC/Jia YF but unfortunately this teenager duo performance weren't as good as last night against Matsutomo/Takahashi particularly after they failed to take momentum in first game. Then the stressful Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong lost mentally to the bravery of Choi SG/Chae YJ as world number 14 dictated the game well, 21-17 / 21-13 for team Korea to grab Sudirman Cup after the last time they topped podium in 2003. Well, China needs players who have strong character in team event, they must ready if Uber Cup also fly to other nation next year.
Err, the Uber Cup is still in China... of course, China has lost either of the Sudirman, Thomas & Uber Cups before, duh What I mean is for China hold on to NONE of them at all after so long... All of their new Doubles players are riding on youthful endurance, speed and aggression; so China's chances at the Team Championships actually diminishes with time. Unless they keep trying to do what Li Yongbo has been doing for the last decade: "re-draft" the veterans and "swap out" the slowing-but-yet-to-mature middle-tier with EVEN younger talents.
And all the Chinese press were "laughing" at Kang for not "re-drafting" the veterans like the Chinese almost always do, out of habit (or addiction?)... Of course, I don't think any other coach had the guts to go "all-in" like Kang when it came to "re-newing" the national team; certainly not the Chiense or Danes (the commentator/ ex-Danish coach Steen Pedersen kept playing down their chances, and must have been floored by their performance)... I guess sometimes half-measures just neither here nor there.
To be fair, Kang doesn't have the same expectations placed upon his team. He can afford to go with a new team and not feel the pressure to win. I see Jung Jae Sung as one of the coaches on the podium. Tang Jin Hua was crying when she got her medal.
i think this year's Sudirman Cup final was one of the best badminton tournaments in recent years. (1) All five disciplines were played (2) Two of the best nations fighting for the cup (3) a good mix of old timers and rookies. (4) no one knows who is going to win until the fifth match is played, and these two pairs had a head to head of 2 to 2.
Very true. Other than the MS, every game could have gone either way on the day. That XD was an incredible performance by the Koreans.
Amazing victory today by Korea. Coming as an underdog to take the title, they gave their everything! Imo having a kinda weak line-up after all the male retirements even helped them. Just take the girls or also SWH. I think they didn't feel much pressure (except the MS match by SWH vs Thailand especially after being draind and mentally tired, but being the clear favourite) and knew they could shine, they didn't showe much nerves! And then Choi Sol Kyu also played at least one great match each tie with his partners. Don't forget he did double duty for the knockout stage (well one not played against tapei). I think they developed a great dynamic in the team and through the tournament and of course it is easier to be the underdog and having not such high aims. Most expect the others like CHN to win and this is the moment you can rise to the occasion! And ofc a little luck here and there like in the MX helped their course. I also thinks it is unfair to blame He or Jeon for being fielded. Surely their coaches knew what they did. Maybe Yufei would have done better, but don't forget SJH is in awesome form and even being the underdog objectivly I don't thinks as a Chinese you (can't) see yourself or being treated as the underdog... Especially after having reliable girls for years and now carrying the expectations on this young shoulders. For SWH im sure he didn't felt like he stands a chance today w/e the reason was, bc the whole team surely knows what he was capable of in Thomas Cup and team events. Also a bit harsh to say Lu/Huang should have easily beat Choi/Chae bc they easily lost to the Thais. Oth Dechapol got crushed in the MD later against Korea. Today Choi and partner had no chance in the MD, but Choi shined in the MX alongside Chae (ofc Lu/Huang didn't get their heads ready in the crucical moments, otherwise we would have seen a closer battle, but that's what makes teamevents especially so interesting). Even though I couldn't watch as much as usually I really enjoyed the knockout stage. There was no boring match-up like in earlier editions with China going through w/o a match being dropped. For the competition and the world it is surely a good thing that the teams get closer and closer and more balanced in all disciplines. It will be interesting if and when China can regain their dominance (they are still dominant overall but not near like the last decade and longer).
Lu Kai was also crying during his interview... Maybe that speaks to the influences (or lack thereof) on the coaches-- the Chinese teams not only gets funding, but also KPIs from the state... and also pressure from all tax-payers (even non-badminton fans "expect" China to win). BTW, I just realize that Zhang Jun, the Chinese Doubles coach, played and lost his XD match in the 2003 Sudirman Cup to Ra Kyung-min, the lady on the Korean Doubles Coaching team-- and that was when China last lost the Sudirman Cup to China... Don't know how Zhang Jun felt about meeting his nemesis 14 years later?
Too late for excuses now but I'm disappointed Bao and Tang weren't fielded today.. CQC not been playing good this year in both XD and WD. Come on man. Losing two straight games to Chang and Lee.. Come on man
What do you mean? Lee/Chang is probably the one of the best WD at the moment, it will take a lot of mental and physical game to beat them. They also have won the AE which raises their confidence more.
People who are making direct comparisons between Lu/ Huang vs Dechapol/ Sapsiree vs Choi/ Chae probably have zero idea what kind of sports badminton XD is and think it's some kind of MMORPG levelling game... Dechapol/ Sapsiree play Left/ Right as if they are MD minus the smashes (cos they are not tall enough) and won all their Sudirman matches because their opponents all played the front/ back XD (like Choi/ Chae) who can't deal with their variations and crosses; it says nothing about Choi/ Chae's ability to deal with another front/ back XD like Lu/ Huang. And don't give me all the mumbo-jumbo about pressure being one side but not the other, you can see from how Chae lost it after winning that she was really under pressure to stay focused and aggressive as the smallest player on court and the target of her opponents' attack. What's really strange to me is how Lu/ Huang keep getting themselves trapped in the flat exchanges where they lose points instead of the lift & smash situations where they get points-- it's pretty obvious that Lu/ Huang are disadvantaged in the flat exchanges because of their height (& having to crouch because of it) while they have the advantage in the lifts & smashes because of their height (Choi has to work SO hard to kill any shot with his smashes). I know Lu/ Huang have been varying their game play and increasing their shot selections (& might over-take Zheng/ Chen as World No.1 some day), but face with a "traditional" front/ back XD like Choi/ Chae and being fresh from not having to play JPN yesterday, Lu/ Huang should have been told to go in and hammer the Korean XD with the old lift & smash game (like what the Chinese WD did to the Japanese WD) If Cai Yun were around he would have pointed out immediately how fearful he was of getting into flat exchanges with Lee Yong Dae-- unless you have Zhang Nan in front of you, just get out when you find yourselves trapped in flat exchanges with the Koreans; DON'T try to win it, just lift and get the hell out of the situation! Not to mention that flat exchanges works AGAINST the nervous/ losing side, because you'll need composure/ concentration to come out on top-- it's the same rule as don't try outrageously creative/ low % shots if you are not feeling up to it... Even the commentator Steen Pedersen recommended more attacks/ smashes to get rid of the nerves instead of all pushes which they have trouble controlling... But the Chinese doubles coach Zhang Jun doesn't even seem to have this basic awareness of the strengths and weakness of the Chinese vs Korean badminton...
People in China are demanding the return of LYB!!! http://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2017-05-28/doc-ifyfqvmh9394932.shtml
