Yeah, finally a ray of light for the CHN MS young cohort apart from Shi Yuqi. At risk of sounding trite, there is indeed no substitute for experience, and that's precisely what these CHN youngsters lack with so little international exposure vis-a-vis their foreign peers. Fully agree with antssantss, not only Lu Guangzu appeared a different player at the AUS open, Zhao Junpeng and Zhou Zeqi too and the opponents they beat en route to dominate the semis and final are certainly no pushovers, and it shows in the way they each overcome their respective opposition round after round. The only exception is 21-year-old Ren Pengbo who continued to disappoint despite the fact that he was the one singled out for praise by Sony Dwi Kuncoro some time ago after the old guard was handed a resounding defeat by the young aspirant. Perhaps his turn will come. We'll see. Let's not forget the young 19-year-old Sun Feixiang whom I sense is also on the verge of making a breakthrough, the signs are there, in my opinion.
Lu Guangzu deserves special mention because he impressed me the most among the four CHN MS at the AUS Open' 18 - his shotmaking was decisive, crisp, neat and forceful, in both attack and defense as well as as counterattack as when he demolished Sameer Verma who simply had no answer and was reduced to passivity time and again as LGZ dictated most of the rallies with his speed and power. As for Zhao Junpeng, he is basically a rallying stroke player biding his time to attack and I agree with Morten Frost who pointed out that he's not equipped with a power smash to finish off the rally outright. In the past I used to feel he is also not fast enough in movement but he seemed to have improved in that aspect of his game now with better court coverage. Shotmaking can be fast or slow, hard or soft as called for by the situation in the choice you make for the best chance of winning the point, the precondition is you must try to get to the shots as early as possible to give yourself more options, thus controlling the rally if not outright winner. Next, Zhou Zeqi in my humble opinion is stronger in defence than in attack, and his smashes are also not lethal but it gets the job done when the opportunity presents itself in most instances. His retrieving ability is quite good and in getting a lot back he often frustrates and annoys his opponents, esp offensive players. Though in that regard he resembles Chen Long but Zhou's attacking ability when the half chance offers, apart from short returns or loose shots which anybody can put away with force, is not as strong as Chen's who when he's in his element is capable of offensive and defensive play in equal measure to a high degree. Lastly, Sun Feixiang is inclined towards an attacking game, he also has the speed and power like Lu Guangzu but. for the time being in his formative stage, he is quite inconsistent and it showed in the results so far in the pro circuit. Yes, much room for improvement for the young talent, the 2016 World Junior Champion.
Congratulations to Team CHN at the just concluded AUS Open HSBC BWF WTS300 event for capturing the MS and WS crowns by their young guns,Lu Guangzu and Cai Yanyan respectively. For me, also noteworthy is that Cai Yanyan is now being trained by Wang Xin who took over the helm of the national junior team in March whereas the fellow teammate she beat en route to the final in R2, Zhang Yiman, is under the tutelage of Zhang Ning as she is a member of the national 1st team. Therefore I will extend my felicitations to Wang Xin for her maiden title won by one of her charges. Incidentally, it is Cai Yanyan's third senior title, viz., the CHN Int'l Challenge and the Macau Open GPG, both in 2017, and now the AUS Open HSBC BWF WTS300 event in 2018 where she scored a comprehensive victory throughout the tournament winning all her matches in two straight games. Wish her many more to come, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of her soon in the pro circuit , hopefully on the winners podium as much as possible. I wish the same for the 21-year-old Lu Guangzu, born 19 Oct 1996, upon clinching his maiden international title. Actually, just sometime end last year, the youngster made us took more notice of him when he unexpectedly booted out Chen Long in the China National Games before giving Lin Dan a good fight in the title bout. A player to watch out for going forward, I believe.
Agree with JL's comments on the China MS in the Australian Open. I dont know whether you agree but dont you think that Lu Guangzu plays in a similar way to Xue Song, before he was injured.. XS beat K. Momota and was leading by one game in the rematch. His improvement was a revelation. Before that he was very mediocre. Is it possible that the coach that brought XS to such a high level is now coaching the juniors.The three MS in the semis have all improved a lot. They have speed, power, great defence and good stamina.And they have a good attacking game. LG is the most impressive with good anticipation, defence and attack. He has the ability to return attacks with good placements and rarely does the opponent get an opportunity to finish off the retrieve. LG has the most potential. However to get to the top he has to improve his attacking game and his deception. LCW for me has the most lethal attacking game. IMHO SF has improved the least . And I agree Ren Pengbo is disappointing in this tournament.
Just seen the video of the womens singles final between Cai Yanyan and A.Mine. CY has great potential with her strong attacking game. She needs to improve her net play and her backhand. Chinas WS have always fared poorly against Japan because they were too defensive. CY is a such a refreshing change to the usual weak performances of the juniors except perhaps for Wang Zhiyi. Looking forward to her next appearance.
I understand that one of the coaches for the CHN national 2nd team is Chen Yu who used to coach Xue Song before. Now that you mentioned it, LGZ and XS do seem to play a similar style. A pity Xue Song is still nowhere to be seen after his unfortunate injury problems about two years ago.
Sudirman Cup Simulation Match Team Tiger vs Team Dragon Shi Yuqi defeated Chen Long (A comprehensive straight Sets victory) Liu Cheng/Zhang Nan lost to Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen (A three sets defeat) Lin Dan defeated Qiao Bin (An extremely poor performance by Super Dan where he had to comeback from 12-19 down in the second game to force the decider having lost the first game 17-21. Confirmation of the scoreline 17-21 22-20 21-13). Source : Weibo China
Some other confirmed Scorelines Shi Yuqi vs Chen Long (Shi Yuqi - 21-16 21-15) Li Xuerui vs Gao Fanjgie (Li Xuerui - 24-22 21-15)
Its surprising that Zhao Junpeng has been included in the Thomas Cup team for China. In the 2017 National Games Lu Guangzu beat him in straight sets 21-18 and 21-6. And he won again in the Australian Open Semi-Final just ended on sunday 13th June. Or did I get it wrong only Bin Qiao as the 4 th MS.
Interesting, Li Xuerui beat Gao Fangjie. I guess with the advantage of familiarity having trained together on a daily basis in addition to greater experience and maturity, not too surprising. Thanks, Fox, for the info.
Qiao Bin is the 4th MS, as reserve, not Zhao Junpeng as reported in the TUC thread by none other than Fox.
My worry is that Lin Dan as MS3 in team majors is getting a bit shaky as he ages and his motivation wanes, in which mental toughness alone is not enough. OTOH, Qiao Bin, according to Xia Xuanze, has shown he could perform well in team events, as in the BAC team Championships and the China National Games team event. EvenTeam KOR is not using Lee Hyun Il this time round as reserve. Remember, LHI was credited for KOR beating CHN at the last Incheon AG by winning the tiebreaking MS3 against Gao Huan. Understandably, LHI is 38 years old now. Even so, KOR's Thomas Cup lineup doesn't have that many choices, with Son Wan Ho, Jeon Hyeok Jin and Heo Kwang Hee as their top 3 MS followed by a certain Ha Young Woong as reserve. But I'm not too sure if their reserve MS player is a better pick than the old but legendary Lee Hyun Il who only needs to do duty for one or two critical or strategic ties. One thing I'm sure, the old warrior can handle pressure better than any young untested wannabe. Therefore, I supposed that's why the 34 going 35 years old Lin Dan still has a role to play as MS3, just that CHN has more choices to select from than KOR.
I would have dropped HBJ from the team. Can’t see her beating NO or SN. GFJ will be a better choice at No.2 I would instead put wildcards WSX or SY in the team. This will enable LXR to play at No.2 and the team wlll still have an experienced No.3.
For the Uber Cup Simulation Match, also divided into Team Tiger vs Team Dragon, the results as follows: http://sports.sina.com.cn/o/2018-05-14/doc-ihapkuvk2478547.shtml As He Bingjiao representing the Tigers was indisposed, she rested and was substituted by Chen Xiaoxin who was pitted against Chen Yufei of the Dragon Team. Unfortunately, in G2, CXX pulled her thigh muscle and had to retire conceding the match. Tiger Team vs Dragon Team WS1 Chen Xiaoxin conceded, retired to Chen Yufei WD Tang Jinhua/Huang Yaqiong 2 - 1 Zheng Yu.Huang Dongping WS2 Li Xuerui 2 - 1 Gao Fangjie, 24-22, 21-15 Tiger Team won two matches to one over Dragon Team. Post-match, "Dual Core" Zhang Jun and Xia Xuanze, the two Head Coaches, expressed that the warm-up Exhibition Match has achieved its objective. the players basically playing to their standards attained during training. Furthermore, for the match today (May,13th), the venue at Wuhan's Hua Zhong Si Gymnasium, the lighting , drift, etc, were unfamiliar to all the players, therefore, such a playing condition to the players is a form of adaptability training for them as well.
Uber Cup China v Thailand shows how natural talent can make a difference. The China WS were mentally weak and couldnt vary their game to beat the opposition. They are not thinking players imho. They only know how to play one style. HBJ, to me is a naturally gifted player but her style doesnt suit the national stereotype so she never got the support of the coaches. HBJ has beaten B.O. a number of times but she was overlooked in favour of LX. I wouldnt be surprised if HBJ gives up as she will never get a coach to improve her game. China deserves to lose as Thailand was a better team with more depth and experience. China would have lost to Japan anyway if they were in the final. I am afraid the situation will not change as the WS players are too soft, ie they do not have killer smashes. Look at the way the Danish WS1 played against CY. She just smashed her way through CY' defence until CY didnt know what to do. Similarly GF didnt have a clue how to play NJ's attaking game.
CBA start their self destruct w/ their uber greed at London '12. Alas YY/WXL no more to go to Rio, so they force TYT w/ YY, their goal at olympic years are YY/TYT & TQ/ZYL. Big risk w/ YY, future risk I predict BYX has mental down. Done. Love triangle can't wait 'til Rio over, so Luo Twins selected (my jaw). XC/MJ selection understandable, but that make further down for BYX. Me alrady has bad feel for BYX future. Done Bonus destruction for XD. Chain continues, WD & XD still good, but not supreme again. WSX exclusion at London understandable, but again at Rio, make me think WD fiasco London. They want to max their fortune event though the risk is bigger. WYH at that times can make surprise but very upsetable. WSX IMO more safe bet although predictable, but who knows... Discarded twice, my feel WSX 90% retire, WYH w/ medal/nothing will retire too, LXR injury make it from bad to worse. Remember how China in 90's, when WS senior gone, YZY as youngster suddenly take the mantle. Need a lot years to make them dominating again. For lesser case, look at WYH circumstances when she defeated by Bae. And now CYF too. If and only if WSX still play at least for this year, the situation won't this bad. Another reason IMO, CBA's reluctant to send their youngster to int'l coverage, when they start recently all already late. Look at their age group w/ ROW. I don't know who make decision, coach or official, but their blunder over and over. Look now, from powerhouse dominating country degrade to..., well... This not only that ROW catch up, but like rabbid and turtle race story. The rabbit run & sleep repeatedly, the turtle walk slow but steady. When the rabbit wake for the last time, it's over. Economy/job/education choice. China has most population in the world, OK. Hire good psychologist, consul more often w. players. Hire top strategist, not only capable for current time also for future steps. Give players more freedom, more money, more job/education guarantee. If CBA still not wake up after all these years, I'm sure they want to follow Indonesian track.
