To be in the final was already quite jubilatory for his fans I think. Winning was just the cherry on the cake. Personally I celebrate sports and how, like life, it can be unpredictable and full of surprises. Today was a good one when a 35-year-old athlete of an Olympic sport proved a lot of people wrong, especially the one who questioned his very own career choices.
I'm of the opposite opinion regarding Momota - I think his great defensive capabilities coupled with his dangerous smash and great consistency make him a pretty dangerous opponent for LD. VA is probably one of his worst match ups because of the penetration and angles Victor has when attacking, but at the same time he is one of the least consistent players on the top level and can lose quite surprising matches at times. If he's having a bad day and gets frustrated, he can easily fall to a LD that is having a good day and can control the shuttle well in the conditions. Surprisingly, it seems a windy, but somewhat slow hall is best for LD, allowing him to retain more control of his shots than others, while taking the sting out of their attacks a bit. At least that's the impression I got from this venue.
Lin Dan said it himself, you can win tournaments even with a diminished stamina capacity/physical condition. Other parameters can influence the game especially strategies.
Still, we mustn't get carried away but, instead, temper our exultation. As rhoder correctly and realistically pointed out, Lin Dan is nowhere near his best yet, if at all. Let's not forget, Chou Tien Chen nearly finished him off in two straight sets when one game up and leading by a hefty margin, 19-12, in the second set. If not because CTC took his foot off the pedal or was lulled into complacency to let Lin Dan come charging back and turn the tables on him the next two sets (I suspect, CTC was so stunned in G2 that he probably failed to recover from his shock in time throughout most of G3), today we'll be wondering how many more R1 exits Lin Dan can suffer before he'll be forced to call it quits.
I'm afraid you get the meaning wrong. That's just an expression of wishing Lin Dan performing well henceforth, then his critics will be silenced automatically in future.
Yupe so one chubby girl should be proud of her build and less than ideal stamina. Stick to her strengths and believe in herself. The key is to know yourself best and find a way to make the best out of every condition and situation. Though of course I was surprised by how well he could move till the end of game 3. Haha I was expecting he ran to the crowds and showed everyone his bare chest as he usually would do. So seeing him down there overwhelmed by his emotion, it was quite touching.
This is our short talk at the podium. Lin : "Are you ok ?" Me : "Im fine . Sorry this time couldn’t bring you out for meal due to my busy schedule" Lin : "Don’t mention it . So are u joining Singapore Open ? " Me : "Sadly no mate . Will continue to train hard to be fit enough for our next tournaments ." Lin :"Ya , lets strive together " “你还好吗？” “我okay啊，不好意思这次没时间带你去吃饭。" " 没关系，那你会去新加坡吗？" " 不会啦没参加，下次再约，一起继续加油。" “好，一起加油。” #一起加油 source
Good point. It’s also possible Momota would use his consistency to suffocate LD and force him to play suboptimal shots to preserve his energy. I personally don’t think Momota’s smash is very threatening though, it’s a good enough shot to finish off rallies when the opponent is out of position or the lift is short, but nothing spectacular. I feel like there’s somewhat a lack of variation or something that makes Momota’s smash being able to be read. Agreed with the rest of your points, especially about Viktor’s inconsistency. Just that if both Momota and Viktor play at a normal level, I feel that LD would stand little chance against Viktor’s onslaught whereas he may be able to come out with something against Momota.
Well, what Lin Dan lacks in physicality,due largely to his old age, he makes up for with his vast experience, his immense knowledge and consummate skills as well as mental toughness, second to none. And I hasten to add, Lin Dan's excellent reading of the game and anticipation ability, the most difficult skill to learn. I'm afraid, that's something none of the much younger and less experienced player can match, by no means. Certainly not the 22-year old Bingjiao whose stamina still leaves much to be desired compared with the top few WS, and in no way are her experience and technical skills anywhere near Lin Dan's, let alone mental strength. As we know, Tai Tzu Ying became the player she is today only after the remarkable improvement of her physique, lean and mean, specifically her six-pack abs. And what amazing stamina and running ability Akane Yamaguchi possesses to get the kind of attacking and retrieving ability that she's known for. Even Intanon Ratchanok could win three Superseries titles in three consecutive weeks , the first WS to do so ,after she showed a marked improvement in stamina in 2016. Also look at Li Xuerui, a most complete player in the words of Wang Yihan, her comeback trail is still problematic hindered by lack of fitness/stamina as pointed out by Xia Xuanze. She herself admitted the other day ,her current standard is at best 70 % of her former prowess pre-Rio'16 injury. I can assure, once He Bingjiao improves her stamina by another 5 to 10 %, even her inconsistency and proneness to error will be significantly reduced. Of course, as she gains in experience and maturity over the years, those other aspects of her game can get better, but, right now, her main (not only) shortcoming is still her lack of stamina to go the whole hog and win any top tier events, much less win back-to-back tournaments.
It is most fitting indeed that the then 35-year old LCW won the MAS Open in 2018 defeating the player to beat, Momota, in the final and, today, the now 35-year-old Lin Dan won the same title this year beating a resurgent Chen Long in the final. In a way, both 'Golden Oldies' setting the world badminton community abuzz , stirring our imagination and making history in similar fashion. Lee Hyun Il came close to achieving it the last three years or so (2016 French Open, 2017 Denmark Open), and I'm sure other older players nearing 35, such as Brice Leverdez (32), H K Vittinghus (33), just to name two, will take inspiration from it.
You are aware that players like BL or HKV are not quite at the same caliber as LD or LCW in many aspects?
Of course, I'm fully aware of that, but, still, for them to win the odd or only one WTS500/750/1000 is not unthinkable. Brice, for one, has declared such achievements as his goal until he retires.
IMHO, it's arguable who, between VA and KM, would be the more tricky opponent for Lin Dan. Viktor has his set of problems as discussed while Momota has his own set of vulnerabilities which resulted in his 10th defeat to nine different opponents since 2018 (twice to Ginting), four of whom lost to Lin Dan here at the MAS Open '19, namely, Chou Tien Chen, Kanta Tsuneyama, Shi Yuqi and Chen Long. For me, one thing is a no-brainer, if Lin Dan's physicality, specifically stamina, is at least 90 to 95%, if not 100%, as good as any of the top 10 players, he will be right there at the very top all by himself, alone in a class of his own, now. Other than that, Lin Dan has practically no weakness. I recall some years ago,while Gillian Clark and Morten Frost were co-commentating one of Lin Dan's matches, and GC suddenly shot MF a question, " Does Lin Dan have any weaknesses ?" MF kept silent for quite a while and said, " I'm taking so long to answer your question because I can't think of any. If we insist on his having a weakness it may be (and he said something I can't remember now as I didn't thought it was a weakness, something to do with his stubbornness in insisting on playing the same shot that has just been beaten twice by his opponent and yet he refused to concede but would play the same shot immediately the third time to challenge and prove his opponent he can win it, something to this effect, if MF reading this cares to correct me).
2nd MO title, just when you guys are writing the GOAT off, the old chap is reminding you all he is still very much alive in beating top players and went 3 sets Those 1st round exits were because LD does not care as it does not count toward OLY QF and such meagre payout to sweat 5 matches to win...way too much work and health risk to earn such lousy paycheck. Even WC he does not care either, qualifying on wild card one time to win WC and then next year, could not care less to qualify. Only OLY matters and gold is all he wants. Wait for OLY QF to starts. I would not write him off so fast....
Holy banana!!!....I would have love to watch MO19 live, we are going home this September, how I wish we go in April...if only I know...dang!!!
Lin Dan will a horrible first round opponent, now nightmarish .. I think he will be unseeded till World Championships in Basel .
Did anyone think that the WS match was at a higher tempo? With TTY and AY twisting and turning and dashing around vs. the calculated cat and mouse game of LD and CL. CL was trying to up the pace by some fast flats and stick smashes but Lin Dan would bring down the pace by clears and slower shots. I felt that LD was getting opponents to move along the diagonal with cookie cutter plays such as lobbing into the deep forehand and then trying to get a fast drop or some net shot to the backhand front court. Also, in the semis, it seems that he was both creating opportunities for himself and trying to avoid giving SYQ too many attacking opportunities by dominating the net. CL must have tried to anticipate this as he rushed the net quite a few times but stumbled backwards off guard when LD decided to clear instead. I've never seen LD live, and it was quite an experience to see how crafty the old fox is ("I know you know I used the net a lot with SYQ"). I've to say that LD's "wristwork" (for lack of a better term) is masterful. One problem in the SYQ match was that he only knew where LD was hitting after the shuttle is some way in his court or near the ground. Of course, more often that not, SYQ or any other young player was able to run and get those shots anyway. I don't expect LD's good form to continue. But I got to thank him for putting up a show when I was there!
Ah friend, you've been conspicuous by your absence, why do you remain silent for so long, esp now that our idol ,Lin Dan, is the most talked-about badminton player in the world in all the media ? It's such a rare opportunity to rejoice at his triumphant victory. Wonder how many more such occasions we may have in future.
