An unlucky first set for the INA WD pairs. Greysia/Nitya as well as Tiara/Sucy lose the first set after saving several game points.
I didn't realize Hoon/Tan of MAS is still in the competition. I thought by Friday, as usual MAS is left with only ONE MAN STANDING (LCW).
LCW is of course admirable. But, in the old days, we had Peter Gade, Taufik, Lin Dan, Lee Chongwei, Chen Jin, Sony Kuncordo, Lee Hyun Ii and more. One could never be sure which one could win the title or reach into the final for those days. And they were all exceptional, LD’s attack, Gade’s deceptive shots, Taufik’s backhands, LCW’s speed, LHI’s footwork, etc. They really pushed MS to a very high level. Sadly, nowadays we have LCW only! Where are young players who are promising to reach the same level? CL? maybe, but to be honest, I yawned and felt asleep in most of time of watching this dragon’s matches.
Suci/Tiara force rubber-set as they take the second-set 21-18, despite trailing 15-17 just now. This will be yet another long match and could match yesterday's record of 86 mins.
To start with, the players and pairs are rated for their 'pulling power'. Lee Chong Wei can pull in a bigger crowd than, say, Gao Huan or Simon Santoso. Then today's matches of these 'rated' players and pairs are assessed. Are they likely to get beaten today? How high is that 'exit probability'? If it is low, then they are moved to another court to serve as 'ticket sales drivers'. (Since you can't see them on TV, you buy a ticket to see them.) To illustrate further, Lee Chong Wei is not very likely to be eliminated today. That means he can be 'set aside' to be featured on the TV court tomorrow. However, Ahsan & Setiawan (who are a big draw) are in for a tough fight today. Since their 'exit probability' is high, they are moved to the TV Court. (And having them on live TV raises the profile of the tournament.) There's a lot more to this but I'm sure you get the idea. As I mentioned earlier, it's not a spur-of-the-moment thing. It takes hours of arguments for the TV Court line-up to be decided. The final mix has to accommodate a diverse set of demands from series sponsors, event sponsors, title sponsors, local advertisers, multiple broadcasters, corporate donors, the host, the BWF, other badminton associations and the paying public!
Two walkovers from China - XD and MD Xu Chen & Ma Jin Chai Biao & Hong Wei Anyone knows what's going on?
