still the same. that's why you see so many unbelievable upsets. almost 1 every night. again, like Taufik says so many times, whoever wins this WC, will be the one that can control and take advantage of the wind. Forget about the opponent. It's the wind/draft that most likely "win" in the end..
So i guess it will be wrong to expect any improvement on the SF and finals days,huh?Organisers still not ready to lower the A/C;or is there a chance there will be better playing conditions for the SF and finals?
to me, gunawan is almost like wayne gretzky of hockey, the precise and calculated one. Gunawan knows sigit and candra's strength & weakness where as INA team only knows about gunawan. Howard is a wild card to INA team, tony + howard combo is also new to them. I hope USA team start out the same as with denmark, hit them hard and fast, collect early points while the opposition figuring out what tactic to use against the new combo bach and gunawan. Having halim there now is even better as tony/halim had beaten sigit/candra in AE final.
Howard can thank Tony for all his smashes...It's basically 1 against 2 out there(Tony vs. the 2 Danes), he controlled everything while letting Howard do the easy stuff..Actually Tony G. IS THEIR COACH... We'll see tomorrow, Howard makes mistakes, then i don't know...
Tony better keep Howard in line...today they were lucky against the Danes, who were never really in it. Martin Lundgaard who is the rock of the relationship produced too many mistakes. Howard was so hyper.. better save some energy for the next round. Luluk and Alven will not lose on speed. Tony amazingly seems as sharp as ever, no doubt helped by sparring with Halim.
lol, that's what i thot too, Advantage USA. Since in badminton, players can't talk to their coach during games, here, Howard can do it legally
They keep on moving and will play the tough Thai pairs in the SF tomorrow. They should have no problem, esp. with the unexpected exit of Zhang/Gao. If they win, then they will have to play against the winner of the New Zealand and China's XD(2nd team) pair in the Finals. 2 more matches to go before then can claim their biggest title in their 1 yr of being partners. Should be lots of fun...
You meant, he can thank the Indonesians(PBSI) for providing a player like Tony and Halim to work under him...
i thought the rules changed. aren't you allowed to coach during the game? rexy does it all the time. like actually speaking to his players about tactics
i didn't know that.*shrug* I think it's fair since there is no time out in badminton as compared to volleyball, basketball, football, hockey, etc...
Courtside Coaching? Yes, the rule now allows the coaches to do the court-side directions and it was put in effect since Aug 1st.
Don't be taking the Thais so lightly....I'm predicting a close match, with the Thais winning of course...
day 5 summary U.S. Men's Badminton Team Reaches Semis 51 minutes ago ANAHEIM, Calif. - Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach became the first Americans to reach the semifinals of the World Badminton Championship by upsetting the top seed in men's doubles Friday night. Gunawan, of Fullerton, Calif., and Bach, of San Francisco, rallied from a 10-6 deficit in the second game to earn a 15-9, 15-10 victory over Denmark's Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen, the three-time defending European champions. After Eriksen hit a shot wide to end the mach, Bach knelt on the court and kissed it. "You have no idea what state of mind I'm in right now," Bach said after the victory. "Beating the No. 1 at home, you can't buy that for a million dollars." Thirteenth-seeded Gunawan and Bach will play No. 4 Luluk Hadiyanto and Yulianto Alvan of Indonesia in Saturday night's semifinal. Gunawan won the 2000 Olympic gold medal in men's doubles for Indonesia. Second-seeded Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto from Indonesia remained in contention for their first world title since 1997 with a 15-10, 11-15, 15-9 quarterfinal victory over No. 5 Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark. They will face No. 9 Chan Chong Ming and Koo Kien Keat of Malaysia. Chan and Koo earned a 6-15, 15-12, 15-10 victory over No. 10 Flandi Limpele and Eng Hian, Olympic bronze medalists from Indonesia. The women's doubles final Saturday will be an all-China match. Top-seeded Olympic champions Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen, and second-seeded defending world champions Gao Ling and Huang Sui swept their semifinal opponents. Yang and Zhang routed No. 4 Lee Kyung Won and Lee Hyo Jung of South Korea 15-4, 15-2. Gao and Huang swept No. 5 Zhang Dan and Zhang Yawen 15-5, 15-8. New Zealand and Thailand put entrants into the semifinals for the first time ever with victories in mixed doubles. One came at the expense of China's Gao and Zhang Jun, last year's Olympic gold medalists. The second-seeded Zhang and Gao lost to No. 7 Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thungthongkam of Thailand, 10-15, 15-7, 15-11. No. 15 Daniel Shirley and Sara Runesten-Petersen of New Zealand advanced with a 15-11, 15-13 upset of No. 6 Lee Jae Jin and Lee Hyo Jung of South Korea. In other action, sixth-seeded Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, the 2004 Olympic champion in men's singles, rallied for a 3-15, 15-10, 15-7 quarterfinal victory over second-seeded Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark. Hidayat joins top-seeded Lin Dan of China, third-seeded Peter Gade from Denmark and fifth-seeded Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the men's singles semifinals. Top-seeded Zhang Ning of China, the defending Olympic and world champion in women's singles, reached the semifinals by beating No. 12 Kaori Mori of Japan, 11-4, 11-6..
Litle bit out of topics, but I hthink Tonny has took right decision to play in US. He has a great chance to develop his performance. Congrats...... Tonny
too bad i went to play badminton during the MD games :crying: . I hope when Candra and Sigit retires they move to canada then we can boost the quality of badminton in the other half of north america
Not confirmed, but I heard from a close source, that after his study in the U.S. is finished, he and his wife will go back to Indonesia and helped his parents-in-law's business..
I don't remember where I read this, but isn't Halim living in the US now? If so, I wonder if he will ever play again with Tony.
Mini review of Shao-chieh Cheng Shao-chieh Cheng of Chinese Taipei, the first time participator of world championship, always surprises the audience with the first impression of her size (158cm, 5’2”), and amazes them with her skills and fighting spirits. Actually, she is no newbie for the international competitions. In 2004, Cheng defeated the sixth seed Jae-Youn Jun of Korea in Athens Olympics and moved forward to the quarterfinal, though lost to Gong Ruina; in two months, she won the world junior champion of women’s single by defeating Jiang Yanjiao in three games and crushing Lu Lan in two games. She has been playing the role of dark horse. According to Cheng, she fell into the low tide for the first half year of 2005; but she kept training and sharpening her game strategy with the advice from coaching staffs. This win over Wang Cheng means a lot to her and she sees this as a significant breakthrough. Shao-chieh Cheng is currently ranked 21st in women's single. Cheng is 19 years old and attending National Taiwan Normal University.
