So finally it was Lee Yong Dae / Yoo Yeon Seong winning the match over Kim gi Jung / Kim Sa Rang 21-17, 21-14. Wow Congratulations. I love you LYD/ YYS. Wow indeed both of you are just to good. You have won numerous MD titles and gold medals for MD right before Rio Olympics 2016. Indeed both of you are on the right track to win the MD gold medals for Rio Olympics 2016.
What a waste that Sony Kuncoro can't participate in the Rio Olympics. At his best, I think he has what it takes to beat the top players or at least to give them a good run for their money as he has shown in Singapore Open.
You should watch the top-class final match, credit to both players who presented all out performance The hardworker Chen Long v the master Lin Dan, the two-time Olympic Champion displayed some creative and deceptive shots to outwit Chen Long's solid defense. I thought we'll be treated for third game but Lin Dan denied it and he won the crucial points at end of second game as Chen Long rushed to force rubber games but he made errors. All the top-seeds bagged title except MS discipline, much better performance by Xu/Ma than Singapore SS Final last week against Ko SH/Kim HN when they looked so passive rather than proactive there. Li Xuerui showed her superiority despite dropped second game to overcome Sun Yu. A close encounter in WD, the Chinese promising duo Chen/Jia showed good fighting spirit to make Luo twins sisters battled hard before prevailed in the longest match of five finals. Finally, first title in 2016 for Lee/Yoo after failed in German Open final early March.
The exchange of shots are just a league of their own, not mentioning the number of dives for down the line smash returns, this is badminton attacks and defense all at their best. It was great to see this kind of display from LD and CL after a long while. Even recorded match is sure not to be missed
Nothing beats watching it live on TV when you don't know the outcome until the very end. But it's so good I must watch the replay on youtube, still it's delightful as I'm watching it again now. The match started slow, tentative, even tamely until the score reached 4-4 when it suddenly began to take off as the two combatants apparently decided to face each other down, neither willing to concede defeat all the way to the very end; thus an epic battle ensued.
In a way the MS final is an anti-climax as CL failed to extend the match to 3 games when he had the opportunity to do so, if not for his unforced errors, especially towards the end.
What a finals day that was. All four China vs China matches were fiercely contested to their bitter ends. Relatively speaking, the Korea vs Korea match was not quite the death match as we saw between the Korean MD pairs in the past. The MS Final was a rare occasion when both LD and CL played to win in all seriousness. That was as good as it gets, short of a final at OG or WC. Neither player wanted to show all the cards just yet. In terms of overall performance, both players were at their 90% to 95%, with CL at a slightly lower level than LD. But both were at 100% in their attitude. LD showed how he plays when he plays to win. He served notice that he is still one of top contenders for the Olympic gold at Rio. XC/MJ and LXR were enigmas. Where were this kind of performance all season long? The Luo twins proved that experience does count for something. They could have been blown away by the the youth, enthusiasm and a technically better pair. But they managed to weather the storm to show why they were WR#1.
It was an epic match battle. Too bad CL made so many uncharacteristic errors late G2 to allow LD to catch up and erase the good lead he had. Would have loved to see them battle it out in rubber.
I still think they are holding it back. If we were to consider an Olympics final to be 100% perfect effort, the China GP Gold final was maybe 80-90% only. In fact, it looked more like an exhibition match, there is urgency, but not total urgency, there is tension, but not 100%. but for us fans, this is still a great treat as we are more accustomed to same country matches at 60% effort. and to add some conspiracy theory, the outcome was also perfect for the team, ideally, they want Lin Dan and Chen Long to be 1/2 seeds, and they are one step closer.
LD can't catch LCW for 2nd seed no matter what happened at China Masters and Badminton Asia Championships. LD probably just want to shake off the monkey that he can't beat CL. CL is taking things easy these days. He may have to win one of the tournaments before the Olympics to assert himself again. While there were definitely high tension at the MS final, it was not a must win, or lose, game for either. That might have made both players more relaxed and ended up playing at a very high level.
Tough job for other countries MS player in Thomas Cup playing China, they'll have to either fight the Dragon or face the Lion in their den. Not a choice anyone would like either way.
Actually, LD can catch LCW but highly unlikely, as LCW has two low scores (4,320 and 5,500) that can be easily upgraded with semi-final appearances at the remaining SS tournaments.
what a pity Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan lost the WD match. I find them the most entertaining to watch among all the current Chinese WD pairs. Lots of variations, power, dynamic and they are always thinking. And especially Jia at the rear court. too bad they lost out against the Luo sisters by a hair margin on defense. I think Chen/Jia will go far after Rio.
Exactly, I had the same feelings too. But, with you posting it, it is safer. I didn't expect CL to hit two shuttles out at the end of the 2nd game.
it was also out of the ordinary that Lin Dan hardly even celebrated. no fist, no yelling, nothing. very composed and calm, and then immediately go shake the service judge's hand and then ask Chen Long how his fingers are (he injured it during the game and had to bandage it up). Everything was calm, just like another day in the office. but we should still be appreciative of the excellent display. and can only look forward to the fireworks display in Rio.
But at least CL made us believe it was a 'real serious' fight when he injured his middle finger this time as he did other times on different fingers when his rivals were from other countries. Anyway LD is relatively happy he has amassed more points to bring him closer to WR2.
