Yup, I couldn't believe my eyes , especially the third set I was on tenterhooks and at 20-18, I was holding my breath; then when she lost the two matchpoints, I was fairly certain Marin is going to take it but, no, He Bingjiao stumped me, first with that dived save to lift the shuttle which CM netted, and followed by a soft net return that caught CM off-guard, what presence of mind to finish off her equally determined, unyielding adversary. He Bingjiao is damn difficult to predict, she defied my prognostication. I mean, in these two consecutive weeks she captured back-to-back titles beating practically all the best of the best, Akane Y, Chen YF, Tai TY, C Marin, and who else. Amazing, astonishing, sensational, coming from HBJ whom I least expected.
Well said. Tremendous, and for someone like me who's not a big fan of her. Except her hair (that's amazing)
Fantastic. India won MD title at Paris. France is their lucky charm. Hope they do well in paris 2024 Olympics.
They can never make it clinical, can they? I don’t think any win will give them satisfaction without doing some time delay tactics Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It is heartening to see an IND MD pair playing world class badminton Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
there should be a serve timer in badminton then . otherwise dont blame them for doing things within the rules. they are within their rights and such comments are void. it isnt so strict that you have to serve within seconds. many pairs take time. I don't see how this is an issue as a viewer. infact loud shouting during the rally by yang po han is a bigger issue as a viewer.
with the year coming to a close marking a year of intense badminton viewing for me , im gonna state my top players for each category and why i like them , their speciality. MS: Viktor Fricking Axelsen - 'nuff said already lol. Closest play to absolute perfection I have ever seen . Flawless badminton absolutely devouring any and all players in his path. when he enters a tournament the only question is "who'll come second?". The kind of dominnce he has shown , losing just 2 matches in a year , is unparallelled and unbeatable. My bet to be the GOAT by 2025 and EU flagbearer. If he gets another gold at Paris and has around the same dominance till Paris, safe to say he'll be goat. WS- Goochie : mind boggling retriever. nothing goes past. never gets tired. never shows the slightest bit of helplessness or tiredness. blank face 100% of the time. beats opponents like nothing . makes big comebacks even when pushed to the brink of defeat which doesn't happen much in the first place. Only one to tame Chinese WS . MD: Brothers of Destruction(Rankireddy& Shetty): Fav MD . Ferocious , wild , one - and- done attack. endless barrage of tremendous and spectacular smashes which opponents just cannot deal with. best attack in the field. the only thing holding them back is their defense which shetty seems to have worked on . if they get their defence to an upper level, they will be number 1. their defense holds them from beating chia-soh and minions. I think 2023 will be a good year for them . "XD"- WataShino- Though I dont watch much XD , WataShino is one of the best pairs and the reason I like them so much is because of Watanabe and his wild , mind blowing , match winning shots from nowhere. he is consistent at producing these gems. makes watching XD worthwhile. WD- haha
Three new champions emerge in French Open 2022 including reigning Olympic & World Champs who showed his class, stamped the authority throughout the match. Gemke puts a good fight to play more aggressive, keep trying to find loophole to break Axelsen formidable defense and solid game. An emotional victory for the tall Dane who was runner-up ten years ago at same venue, 7th title of this year to continue his incredible feat post nailed Olympic Games in Tokyo last year. A groundbreaking tournament for Pearly Tan/Thinaah to win first ever BWF top-tier event, their adventurous style of playing coloring women's doubles competition. A tough draw for the Malaysians en route to snatch WD crown here, outlasted Rahayu/Ramadhanti, All England Champs Matsuyama/Shida then two-time World Champions Matsumoto/Nagahara in final. Meanwhile it's a straight-forward win for Rankireddy/Shetty to quell Lu/Yang resistance who made brief comeback after towel break of second game, this match was dominated by flat drive exchanging to avoid lifting shuttlecock too much then punished by deadly smash. The Chinese representatives recaptured their titles, He Bingjiao nearly to replicate World Championships blunder in deciding game, leading comfortably 11-4, the never give up Marin amplified her effort to play more attacking game, pro active as He began to become less accurate and quite loosen her game, three-time World Champions saved two match points to force deuce, this time the left hander stays composed and managed the nerves well as she prevailed at the end to nail back to back S750 title at Europe soil, positive note for Marin that her comeback going on right track. Zheng/Huang remain at top spot, big credit to Tabeling/Piek who pushed the Chinese into the limit, unfortunately they blew away four match points, however the Dutch pair pose toughest obstacle to the mighty Chinese, very few pairs could penetrate to the World Champion in dire situation. A simple awarding ceremony, a bouquet of flower and souvenir, no medal or mascot (Plumy) for winner and runner-up. Creative idea for LED stage lighting display with court background before player's entrance.
A funny thing... I'd been following the French Open all week enjoying the progress of Pearly/Thinaah. Separately, over the weekend, I posted a private sale ad on Gumtree for an electric piano I wanted to sell. On Sunday I played Badminton at my club as usual, deliberately not checking the French open scores so that I could watch the highlights when I got home. So I got home, showered and settled down to watch the WD Final highlights, at which point I saw a response to my ad on Gumtree. The message read:
Great wins for all the players. Malaysia WD did a history by winning the 1st WD titles here. Congratulations. Be hungry. Jojo had cramps and have to give a walk over. Wasted. Viktor did no wrong this time against LKY which is expected. China XD almost lost in a nail biter. They did well to come back.
How dare France!!!! .. their French Open was way more entertaining (in all disciplines xcept maybe MS) than anything this year...
