Oh man! A lot of BC'ers seem to be in a bad mood and are quite sensitive after the WC. Cool it guys. Just like any other sport, badminton's suppose to foster goodwill and friendship among all people regardless of race, nationality or creed. Let's keep it that way.
cai fu are younger, and improving. i don't really think any pair now can beat them with ease. i think the reason why we got such boring finals is because the chinese players are in great form, taufik chongwei and gades couldn't even enter semis.(except mixed doubles perhaps). i don't think it's because the 21 point system favours china.
The 21 point favors attackers. Gone are the days of sitting back defending, trying to control the game and set-up your winning shot. With the 21 point system the first to attack gets the advantage.
The 21 point system favors aggressive attackers, AND the shorter games mean there's more chance of upsets. It takes a shorter passage of good play from a 'lesser' pair, plus a few errors from the stronger pair, and the lesser pair could take a game. But with the 15 point system, this was much less likely. The English pair did well to get to the final and good for them, but I'm not sure if the 21 system is good for badminton overall.
it'll be a tight call. Fu/Cai vs Gunawan/Wijiya will be the most most exciting MD to watch. I don't care who will win. If i have to bet, i put half of my money on each side. or if i have to choose one side, i'll put on Fu/Cai. I either win my bet or see my favorite pair win the game. Gunawan/Wijiya are getting old now, they are beatable, sadly. but their understanding of the game is second to none. what they play is more than a sport, it's art. if you ask me to name one talent in MD, Gunawan is the name. no one else. Fu/Cai are younger, faster, harder smash, they can win any match. but there's still something to be desired to reach Gunawan/Wijiya's gold time.
21 points system with no service over ensures no one loses 21-0 or something... and top class players have to play point to point at least, that is what ive noticed.. its been a long while since matches proceed point by point to each player like some of the MS and MD matches in the WC 2006. (examples: CHvsTH, CHvsPG, BCLvsLCW)
First of all, i'm not upset nor looking excuses for Mal lost. I have no favor to any country but more to individual pair. In old system, one may win strokes but without point, so players are more "free" to attempt trick or skill shot without worrying too much of lossing point, but in this 21 point system, players are tense up bcause every shot counts. Players like fu/cai gain most benefit from this system, bcause of their speed and power, leaving their opponent not much choice but keep on lifting the shuttle to avoid any mistake. So no skill is presented! Skill players like Eriksen,Lundgard,Tony,Wijaya,Sigit,Alven, suffer so much from this system, we can tell before this new system implement, these players may stand 50/50 when palying fu/cai, but now more than 80% i bet their will lost.
Let's not forgte that Clarke and Blair had only been playing together for less than a year. It was obvious that they weren't really in synch with each other - think of how many times they left the shuttle thinking the other would get it. Does anyone remember the football world cup in 1998? Brazil steamrollered their way to the final to face France. Brazil lost their nerve and ended up losing 3-0. Clarke and Blair were in the first major finals and they lost their nerve, it happens. Also, don't forget that it was Clarke's second game of the day. None of the other men had to play two games in a day. They beat some excellent pairs to get to the finals so give them a few months and watch out for them in Scotland in January!
I think that Jonas/Lars have lost to Blair before with Robertson and maybe Archer also in Europe over past couple of years. In a competition you can only beat who you come against and if the English pair beat everyone that came before them until the final then they deserve to be there. They were 5/8 seeds so it is usual that they have a couple of easier rounds. I think it is unfair to describe their draw as easy as Jonas/Lars are former world champions and could not beat them on Saturday. And as they did better than ever before, it is expected that they would be nervous in their first major final Welldone in pulling it all together in such a big tournament.
I agree and think Blair and Clark did superbly. Coming into the tournament no one really gave them a chance, despite the fact that coming into the competition they were ranked 7th in the world, which is higher than some of the pairs that other people were predicting would win. Other than the final they couldn't have performed better and I think on the big day nerves just got the better of them. Also you shouldn't forget that Clark had already played one hard final that day. Blair and Clark have only been playing together about a year and I have seen them play Cai and Fu before, and they got beaten easily that time too, but I think they haven't yet figured out a way to cope with the Chinese pair's pace and power, but then again not many people have. Maybe things would have been different if Gunawan and Wijaya or Sigit and Limpele were playing, but they weren't and you can only beat the people who are put up against you. I think we should give then a break and give them some credit for a good performance.
totally agree. when was the last time we saw english players in the final of world championship? after so many years, i can only say well done, england.
congrats to ENG players they hav done well but i think partially is due to 21 pt scoring system also... if it had been 15 pt system such situation might not hav happen...
i was talking about WC gold, not olympic gold. it's boring when u keep harping the same thing.(post #38) my point already made, it's makes no difference whether zhang ning won the platinium, plutonium, or other rare metal medals, my point was already made.
