Danes said in their post match interview, that they were really tired after game 1, and was afraid they would run completely out of steam if the same tempo was kept up for a long 3-setter. They didn't go out on court to throw the 2nd set, but once they got too far behind, they were afraid that they couldn't catch up even if they tried hard, and that it probably would be in the Japanese pair's interest to get 3 long and hard sets - so they started to reset for the 3rd. Looking back at it, I it was the right decision - that 3rd set could really have gone either way at the end.
i agree. marin's first priority is to close out the match. it's her job, and who are we to judge how someone does their job?
And if I may address all those ass-hat comments about the racket being pushed back incident... Jeez some of you guys really are going out of yourself to see negatives from Danish players :-( How can you see this incident on TV, and they comment such lame explanations and descriptions here on this forum afterwards is beyond me. It's not really rocket science this. At the Olympics, shuttles have been on the slow side. Especially used shuttles - they have been tearing up and loosing speed pretty fast. In the WD finals, and that point in time, it's in the Japanese pair's interest, to play slow shuttles. They have just completed a rally, going 38 shots (lot of them smashes), and Juhl picks up the shuttle. She checks it, and immediately walk towards the ref to get it changed. You can see on the HD TV broadcast that the shuttle is flossed... For some reason which I simply cannot comprehend, the ref says to pass the shuttle over (the Japanese players are shouting to not change it, and come running over). Juhl hold the shuttle forward to show the ref (probably thinking that he hasn't seen how beaten up it is), when the Japanese player extends her racket to fetch the shuttle from Juhl (clearly not interested in having the ref inspect the shuttle). She has no business putting her racket over at the Dane's courtside like that, she should simply stay on her own side, and let Juhl talk to the ref. Now Juhl turns away, hold out the shuttle towards the camera, to show how beaten up it is, because she is frustrated that it cannot be changed. THAT's when the ref calls her over, to explain that she should hand it over (what you call giving the warning) - which is fair. He has ruled, and no matter how ridiculous the ruling, players should adhere. So Juhl did not "hit" the Japanese player. And Juhl was not warned before the racket came forward. She was not harassing any ref's or behaving unsportsmanslike here. Get a grip guys. Now, here's what I really don't get: At the beginning of the day, ref's decide which shuttle speed should be the correct one. And before the beginning of the match, a lot of shuttles are tested, so each and every single one of them, has the "correct" speed, and there are no slow or fast ones in the mix. WHY IS IT THEN, that if you're the least in doubt about a shuttle's condition and speed, you don't ask to get it changed for a new one, that you have selected and tested to be of the correct speed??? This is the f***** olympic final! It's not a junior league match on a budget. They should be playing fresh shuttles at correct speed. And the Japanese players should not be allowed to insist playing a shuttle of incorrect speed. An argument could be made, for changing the shuttle after EACH rally - except it would take a second or two of additional time between points. The ONLY time a ref should say no to a pro player requesting a shuttle change, is if he feels that the player is purely trying to stall the match and break the opp rhythm. That was clearly not the case here - they just played a 38 stroke rally, and Juhl asked for the change straight away. I call bad refereeing here. And if you really insist on calling out a player for unsportsmanslike behaviour here, it would have to be the player that are trying to play the next point with a shuttle of incorrect speed, because she think she will gain an advantage from it. #JustSaying
LYB have to quit already. The team is badly managed and incompetence. he has lost touch of what is going on with his players.
I also find the comments about the Danes not saying thank you for the match rubbish. They did, in an acceptable manner. They just lost the Olympic Gold medal by the most narrow of margins, and yet they did walk around extending the hand and saying thank you for the match afterwards. They also hugged their opponents when seeing them the 2nd time after the match. What do you expect? I've seen many players do worse in that situation. I find it strange however, that no one commented on Pedersen's nice behaviour towards the line-ref in the first set, when she looked upset about the call and asked for a challenge! When the challenge turned out unsuccessful, she walked towards the line ref, gave an excuse me expression and then a thumps up to the line ref. In an Olympic final after having just lost a point. This is the player some of you guys monitor closely (and comment everything negative), so I wonder why you missed this? ;-)
agreed. when they initially reached #1 on oct 30, 2014, it was due to playing the most tournaments and finishing high. but, they still consistently lost to the top 4 wd teams. they have improved more than any wd team(s) the past 12 months: 2014 victories: 1 ssp, 1 ss, 1 gpg... http://www.badzine.net/wp-content/uploads/2014-Results-winners.pdf various china wd teams won all other ss & ssp's 2015 victories: 1 ss... http://www.badzine.net/wp-content/uploads/2015-Results-winners.pdf ina 1, kor 1, china all others 2016 victories: 2 ssp, 1 ss, 1 gpg, 1 og(!)... http://www.badzine.net/wp-content/uploads/2016-Results-winners.pdf china 2, ina 1 wha...? you're not watching ms...? top 4 seeds are in semi's.
Marin attitudes on court makes her a champion. Similar like Lin Dan who is known as a bad boy on court. But their arrogant and attitude are the things that intimidate their opponents. Once in a while I I hope LCW shows some arrogant on court like Marin (minus the shouting) against Lin Dan. LCW is known as a nice guy but he always lost to Lin Dan
it doesn't bother me. a lot of top players do it. male & female. it's likely the musical note marin hits causes all the hate. if you don't like it now just wait for the next crop of professionals that are in the pipeline. there's a lot of screaming in the gpg, gp & int'l challenge tournaments. to top it off 'screaming' boys & girls are the norm on the world junior circuit!
i haven't seen the match yet so i can only say: 3.5.7 Change of shuttle 3.5.7.1 Changing the shuttle during the match shall not be unfair. The umpire shall decide if the shuttle needs to be changed. http://system.bwf.website/documents...II Section 2 - RTTO - June 2016 Revised 4.pdf
Having matched some of the matches today while multitasking, I did not find the Danish pair to be particulsrly obnoxious. But I find the screams of Marin to be blood curdling. And Marin 's body language is unpleasant to me.
Very sad to read (outside sources) that Li Xui Rui has torn her ACL. Hope she can make a career comeback.
Very sad to read (outside sources) that Li Xui Rui has torn her ACL. Hope she can make a career comeback.
I too did not find any incidents during the match that may be characterized as unsportsmanlike or cheating. It was a sensational match, the stakes were high and emotions (of fans and players) even higher. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Congratulations to Japan on the gold and to Denmark on the silver. Very well done. The Japanese won because they persevered despite the odds of being down 16-19, dug deep and somehow found it in themselves to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. As some of you have said, the match could have gone either way. Indeed. However, it was not karma catching up to the Danes that cost them the match. They had not cheated and they were not unsportsmanlike. Pedersen did not “claim” the point for the double hit incident as someone here suggested. The umpire gave the point to the Danish pair because neither the umpire or other official saw the double hit. We viewers have the benefit of slow-motion replay. What happened today is the nature of sports and the humans who officiate it. Sometimes, it works to your benefit and at other times, it proves detrimental to you. The rules do not allow a challenge to an alleged double hit and video review as it does for line calls. Umpires are human and will make mistakes. Whether or not Pedersen knew she double hit (and I can understand if she did not but that is not the point) she was under no obligation to own up to it. It was up to the officials to call it if a double hit occurred. Pedersen did not cheat and played well within the rules and regulations of the Olympic badminton competition. Pedersen did the customary post match on-court handshakes. No more, no less. While some may have wanted to see her hug the Japanese players, it was not unsportsmanlike behavior not to embrace. In fact, it is infrequent that players hug immediately after a match. That is why when it happens, we notice and say, “Ah, that’s nice...” Pedersen just lost the Olympic final after leading 19-16 in the rubber game and was probably in disbelief and feeling horrible that she was the one who hit the final losing point. She should be allowed to be dejected and disappointed immediately after losing, not criticized for not hugging opponents who just defeated them moments earlier. I thought the umpire made a mistake denying the request to change the shuttle which was in poor condition. Therefore, understandably, emotions got very high over that request. However, nobody hit anybody. Yes, I saw Juhl casually swat Matsumoto’s racket. No, Matsumoto did not stick her racket in Juhl’s face. She merely placed it in position to receive the shuttle which Juhl was of course not ready to turn over to her as Juhl was still in the midst of vigorously arguing her case for a shuttle change. I am quite sure all four players in the match did not think it was all as big a deal as the fans here have made it out to be. Such incidents are bound to occur in a hotly contested match and especially so in the ultimate tournament. No need to get our panties in a bunch over this. No one was unsportsmanlike or cheating there or at anytime during the entire match. For those who still feel Pedersen cheated on the double hit, let me ask you this about line calls. If a player sees a clear from his opponent to the baseline fall in but the line judge calls it out and the player does not tell the umpire that the line judge made a mistake and that the point should be awarded to his opponent instead of him, is the player cheating?
There is no end to the level of clueless-ness that you can get from amateur commentators-- fansite aiyuke.com even posted an article complaining that Marin continued to vocally celebrate her points was disrespectful... Don't they know that by specifically requesting the CHN chiropractor to attend to her, Li Xuerui had already DECIDED to BREACH match regulations and FORFEIT the match? Because only court medical attendants are allowed (for a max of 5-10 mins delay) for the purpose of continuous play-- if you needed more time or medical attention, then forfeit the match like all the professionals do in the pro-tour! The rest of the match was just Marin, Xuerui, the judges and the coaches putting up a professional display to give the audience a satisfactory conclusion-- Xuerui obviously did NOT to be treated like a loser/quitter, and Marin showed her the respect she wanted by playing and beating her as if she was not injured. That's why there was no objection raised by anybody when the CHN chiropractor was brought in AFTER court attendants had already applied 1st aid to Li Xuerui-- don't be some clueless amateur and think that some special allowance was given by the Umpire... he would have had to consult the tournament referees, and the reason why nobody did is because the match is already forfeited by Li Xuerui.
I screen captured the shuttle change dispute and raquet swat here. I thought it was a pretty rude gesture. Matsutomo's raquet was a little too close, but not in her face. Juhl could have ignored it, just like she ignored the umpire's clear gesture to hand over the shuttle after looking at it quite closely. I actually agree that the shuttle looked pretty beat up and probably should have been changed; I've seen cleaner ones get changed, but Juhl's mistake was trying to argue with the umpire. That only makes them double down harder. But you can see they make apology gestures to each other before the next rally so it's all good? The next point is the double hit, and the Japanese let that one go much faster than the earlier "hair hit?" from Takahashi. Seems trying to reason with the umpire is absolutely pointless.
the various results in this OG show how unpredictable it is. having ZN/ZYL playing against CPS/GLY in the semi doesn't guarantee Chn would win. the malaysians have also beated the chinese in this year malaysian PSS, if i'm not wrong.