XD semifinal, 3 home pairs + 1 INA pair WS semifinal, 3 KOR + 1 CHN (He BJ) MS semifinal, 3 KOR + 1 CHN (Tian HW) Will those shuttlers deny all KOR final? Looks like slim chance.
HBJ and THW have earned themselves the opportunities to test themselves against and learn from more established and experienced opponents. Good luck to them.
as expected, Korean won all matches with foreign players in QFs... will be the same in the next round... we all know this is going to happen....
they are luck that both did not meet many Korean players so far in this competition (HBJ met none Korean players, THW only met Korean player in R1)... they are running out of luck now as their next round opponent are Korean players... you are difficult to win anything on Korean soil for you-know-why reasons...
As long as both acquit themselves well, something like pushing their opponents to 3 tough matches, will be good enough.
As long as both acquit themselves well, something like pushing their opponents to 3 tough matches, will be good enough. I have read quite a lot on how the Koreans like to win by any mean, fair or unfair. This really doesn't matter. The GPG is not an important tournament anyway, just good only for the young players to gain some international exposure and learn something in the process.
Unexpectedly it has been quite an easy ride for our reunited WD pair of Shinta & Yao Lei. A first-round bye and two subsequent wins now put them into tomorrow's semis. However, yesterday's QF match against JPN's unseeded duo of Yuki/Sayaka took longer past the hour in three games. They met a KOR pair, Han/Jung in R2 and won comfortably 21-6, 21-14 without any complaint on the judging I think. But they will meet much stiffer Korean opposition tomorrow in Ko/Yoo who are seeded 2. Of course in the unlikely event that our pair wins, then talk of biased judging should not continue, I hope. I'm sure tomorrow's matches against the remaining four foreign teams will be closely watched. And it will be shown on our local TV at 11 am, as Korea is an hour ahead of us. Just hope they will telecast the foreign teams in action.
LHI, the soft paw, is really a skillful player, and despite not being seeded, he was able to subdue Simon Santoso, the Indonesian Grand Prix Gold Open 2013 champion, seeded 12, easily. Will he be able to overcome the Chinese player Tian Houwei, seeded 11 who won two grand prix gold titles this year, in the SF? As a fan of LHI, I hope he does. His other advantage is he is left-handed.
Why did Lee Yong Dae retire from the doubles? Anyone know? Yoo Yeong Seong still in the mixed doubles. Hope hes not injured...
Son Wan Ho,the hot favourite for the title,bundled out by his younger teammate,Hong Ji Hoon, is the biggest upset in the tournament so far. By the look of things, we might even end up with all-KOR finals in all five disciplines...hmmm. Anyway, it's just a GPG tournament, not much at stake, and all the matches involving foreigners will be shown on TV court presumably. Let's see whether they will end their exploits tomorrow; frankly I think it'll be quite tough for all the foreign players/pairs to get past their respective KOR opponents, with the exception of the INA XD perhaps. Tian HW's biggest hurdle here should be the great comeback veteran, Lee HI, tomorrow - a battle of experience vs youth, in this case experience so rich and wide of the veteran's who is also an accomplished exponent is likely to gain the upper hand. He BJ, the surprised semifinalist, first unexpectedly overcome her 'senior' ( 4 years older ?) compatriot Deng Xuan in R1 who herself was early this April the NZ GP winner edging out the now famous JPN child prodigy, Akane Yamaguchi. But tomorrow's semifinal will be HBJ's biggest test in her maiden adult international tournament; should she unexpectedly clear this hurdle (I doubt so), an even probably higher hurdle awaits her in the form of Sung JH in the final. In simple language,it's already a tough ask for HBJ in the penultimate round, let alone the final round. As for the SG WD pair, Shinta Mulia Sari/ Yao Lei, their appearance in the semifinals is a happy outcome; should they somehow manage to push aside the No.2 KOR seed I make bold to say they may have a fighting chance of nailing the title come Sunday. Of late, the INA has been impressive in producing worldbeaters in doubles, mostly men's and mixed, so I won't be too surprised if they, XD Irfan/Weni, beat the odds to emerge champion ultimately.
LHI should win. i saw the first game and he's in control. It's a very good display of how to control a game. Didn't see much evidence of bad linr calls.
Experience counts, THW often caught at his backhand and ouptlayed at the net. LHI reads his younger opponent's game well.