No no no pick Indonesia! He'll have more competitive young sparring partners (well, it's a matter of time until lcw deteriorates)
Ha ha ha, I just voted for option 1 because I think (1) there are no major tournament this year, (2) China wants to give both players a chance to see who is better at this point, (3) their SF opponent is not LCW, so they still have 1 extra day to recover, (4) LD has never lost to CL in 5 meetings, and currently, I think CL shows better form. Hope China MS here can give the world epic match today.
Hoyer's interview with local press: - He hopes LD will play against LCW in the final - the WD debacle at the London Olympics did not affect badminton's reputation http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2013-08/09/node_17.htm
According to XXF, Lin Dan is only at 80% of his best so my intuition says Chen Long to win. The wild card award took him by surprise, and there's insufficient time, not to mention motivation, to get up to full speed as clearly shown by the three matches he's played so far, certainly not the Super Dan we know. Yes, the WC is important, a major event, but still an individual championship more for individual glory, not team championship which is compulsory for CHN to win for national honour, in the words of LYB. As such,may the better player of the day wins. It's the QF, not SF, their next round opponent will not be LCW, so they will fight it out in mutual rivalry. I hope Chen Long has the inner belief he can win the world title and go all out for it. As for Lin Dan,he has nothing more to prove. As he himself has said, winning golds is no longer the most important thing in his life but his legacy and the promotion of badminton to uplift its status in the world. He has already won everything there is in badminton, attaining fame and fortune and is widely regarded as the Greatest of All Time, what more is there for him to achieve other than a more purposeful,meaningful and fulfilling life.
Quite a good match actually, just that I was disappointed with Chen Long who behaved like he has too much respect for Lin Dan and lacks the inner belief he can beat him so much so he didn't play his flowing,powerful attacking badminton that he's capable of most of the time. I still feel Chen Long is a better bet to beat LCW than this new,mellowed,not-so-motivated, not-as-explosive-as-before, Lin Dan at 80% of his best. If it's the same Super Dan I know or anywhere near, I'm sure he'll beat LCW again this time, no doubt about it. As it is, I'm not sure now.
Who knows how good LD really is at the moment? Did he show his true colour in this game? I think only his coach and himself know the answer. The fact that LD beat informed CL tells me LD is serious. If LD didn't have the confidence that he can win the title, he would have let CL win this game. Now, he basically takes over CL's responsibility to win the title.
IMHO, only those with prejudiced,closed minds with preconceived notions against the match would say it's a boring two-game outcome. Watch it again with an open mind and see if there isn't a lot we amateurs can learn from it, esp from Lin Dan's new style of play, not his usual high-impact, fierce-attacking game which is an almost impossible act to follow.
81% including me was wrong. What an excellent match. I think CL lost because he played the same style throughout the match, but LD was able to adjust and change tactics from time to time. LD is getting better and better even at the age of 30. The way LD is playing, I doubt if LCW has any chance.
Take note that we could only vote based on the 4 scenarios given. No 3 seems to be best suited. No 1 & 4 is out, No 2 wouldnt suit cos 2nd set was not a drab.
