You're right about Marin. I too noticed she's no longer just attacking ferociously as before but playing a more balanced and all-round game now, with good net play and sharp drop shots, perhaps necessitated by her long injury layoff. While I don't discount her ability to surprise us again with her comeback anytime soon as she gets back into shape and form but there's also no denying that age spares no one, which I believes affects women athletes earlier and more than men - she's 29 already. Rather it's Akane that all women's singles really have to be most wary of, truly most formidable at the moment, in my opinion.
Are you trying to make my point for me, or what? You are absolutely right, decrease in competition doesn't just happen. It takes a global pandemic, a year without tournaments, a car crash, several senior top players retiring or getting injured and the biggest badminton nation in the world to barely compete for 1 1/2 years to achieve it. You probably missed those things. Or you think that having a year without tournaments and without proper training results in players getting better. As for the 9 players you mentioned...they have won a total of four (4!) 750 or 1000 tournaments combined and not one of them has won more than one. And Ginting's outstanding China Open triumph was well before the pandemic. I think you'll be hard pressed to find an Indonesian fan who thinks him or Christie have gotten better during the pandemic.
Imo , Ginting has got worst since the Pandemic. I think he is faster in 2019 compared to now. Of course he is another player that relies on speed and that will diminish very fast as he gets older. In the past he can still challenge Momota but now he can hardly challenge Axelsen. If Momota and Axelsen is de facto. Also i think its so hard for Badminton to last into 30s because its such a gruelling sport. In tennis , you just mostly moves right and left but in Badminton you legs and body basically move in every direction front back left right and also the jumping not to mention the injuries (just look at pearly jump for example or Marin 1st injury) i dont feel this will happen in tennis. LinDan is GOAT but he is basically finished at 32/33.
Of all racquet sports, only badminton jumps (the higher the better) and move front and back other than sideways. Tennis, squash and table tennis, hardly jump. Tennis more on duration and table tennis, more on reflexes.
LZJ has won Asian Champ and All England though so he has won more than 1 large tournament and he is only 24 or 25. Kunlavut and Lakshya are only like 20 or 21 and Kunlavut has won junior champion 3x so he's not some fluke player. Lakshya too has many achievements at junior level. NTY also is just 22 and has beaten a string of top players and is very well rounded. It's unfair to benchmark younger players who are just coming up against those who are like 27. You have to look at where they are when they are 27 to have a fair comparison. Even then I would say these younger players are playing above their level,being able to beat the previous top players every once in a while. It's just my view. Sent from my SM-A307GN using Tapatalk
