Who are some of the legends people don’t talk about enough?? I’ll start the list with zhang nan. Despite having an illustrious career in both disciplines (the only world and Olympic champion in both disciplines). He deserves much more recognition than he gets, his partner zhao yunlei gets a lot of acclaim as one of the GOATs in the female doubles players category but barely anyone talks about him. He’s probably the most complete doubles player of all time. He doesn’t have a big smash but is great in his defence, mid court play and even was the front court player in MD who could challenge Kevin of all people. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, Zhang Nan is a very good player but I don't talk about him as I simply don't like him. I've seen his attitude problem too many times on court which annoys me as a viewer, so I wouldn't view him as a role model. Chen Long is definitely not talked about as much as Lin Dan, but has been growing on me recently. He has a completely different style of play, which admittedly isn't as exciting to watch as Lin Dan, but is still able to beat many top players. I was surprised that he beat Ginting fairly comfortably at the recent Olympics and hope to see him play a little bit longer. Also Kevin Cordon Seems like he's won a lot in his region, and is the upset king. Wish I could have seen him play more on the Super Series & World Tour! 2021 WC he upset 5th seed Chen Long 2012 Olympics upset 15th seed Rajiv Ouseph 2020 Olympics upset 8th seed Ng Ka Long and reached Semis
i don't see how 'given' can be any part of the conversation. you have to earn the opportunities by winning and qualifying to be in the same tournaments as the top players. then you have to win your early rounds to get into the qtrs/semis/finals. kevin was never good enough to do it. he's had plenty of opportunities over his career and was unable to increase his ranking by winning enough.
Attitude problems? Care to elaborate? I thought he always conducted himself very well. Esp evident how hard he tried to keep it together and support his partners whenever they (Liu Cheng or Li Yinhui) played like crap, which was very often tbh.
Both should thank zhang nan for their WC medals which they wouldn’t have won with others. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Lee Hyun-il. That guy is the most unfortunately underlooked singles player. He is hard to beat and plays a good singles game. It's unfortunately he hardly win any title because other players from China, Malaysia and Denmark were better than him. Otherwise he is a very reliable team event player. He helped South Korea progress thru many rounds in Thomas/Sudirman/Asian Games. Extra FYI : Do you know Lee Hyun-il has a better head to head to Taufik ?
Zhang Nan is successful because his partner got him covered otherwise i do not see anything special from him. His smashes are as weak as Koo Kien Keat's so it's surprising how Zhang can be so successful. I suppose the reason why Zhang and Zhao are successful with so many titles simply because there's hardly any competition in the mixed doubles in the early 2010s till the 2016s. During that time, Zhang/Zhao usually face tough competition from Xu/Ma and Tantowi/Lilyana. In terms of skills, they are not special so i rate Zhang Nan especially overrated.
In Women's Doubles. Overrated : Tian Qing Underrated : Bao Yixin, Tang Quanting, Tang Jianhua, Ma Jin These players in the underrated are a lot better than Tian Qing. When I look at the overall Gold Medal winners in London Olympics, I ask myself why is Tian Qing one of the gold medallists ? She is the most unqualified one to wear that gold medal among the winners. Even one of the underrated players deserve better and it's a shame they didnt win gold.
Especially bao yixin and tang yuanting. They never even got the chance. They played together at the all England in 2015 and looked like they could create a storm in WD but yu yang wanted tang yuanting and ruined both of their careers by just standing and doing nothing in that partnership with tang. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No zhang nan is not successful just because of his partner. You’re too blind to notice anything beyond his not so powerful smashes. Zhang nan’s game was never built around to just fire smashes away. He’s a very versatile player who can play from anywhere on the court both offensively and defensively unlike other powerful players who you talk so greatly of who can’t do much from below the tape. This explains his success in MD where he was the front court player and won a gold at the Olympics and world championships (he’s the only male player to have achieved that). He brought liu Cheng of all people to a world title. XD was not weak from 10-16. It’s the same as now with a few top pairs competing and zhang/zhao were clearly the best of the lot (Xu/Na, Ahmad/Natsir, Fischer/pedersen) and also ko/Kim. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Another player I believe is completely underlooked is Pablo Abian. Yes I know the guy hardly wins any tier 1 titles but I have to admire and give it to this guy for his energy and passion for the sport despite living in a football crazy country. Despite having the worst quality of coaching, weird footwork and awkward smashing skill, he is still able to compete with the top 30. How many players that actually play like him can progress and hold his own against much better prepared opponents. He only needs to go through extreme physical training, footwork training and learn how to play the strokes properly in his early 20s and he will finish well in last 8 or last 4 in a few more tournaments. Now it's too late for him of course but i think he generally plays better than most UK singles players for his level.
