Venue : Barclaycard Arena Category: Super Series Premier Prize Money: $ 550,000 Tournament Software : http://tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=EA417436-F4B0-4DA1-9FF4-7CB910F51658 England Time = GMT Livestream : http://videostream.dn.ua/videopage/videoPage.php?g=c2J2b2JoK2F0Y3ZsbmhZ&c=en&i=eWlhaX VidGd1bA№f№f Order of Play : (Starting at 12:00 PM) LIN Dan vs Tian Houwei 2)Takahashi/Matsutomo vs Tang Yuanting/Yu Yang 3)Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto vs Nielsen/Pedersen 4)Wang Shixian vs Nozomi Okuhara 5)Ivanov/Sozonov vs Endo Hayakawa
This must be the first SSP with no No.1 Seed! Tian Houwei will be extremely pleased to be in his first All England Final! After his disastrous performance in the Asian Team Championships, this is a good come back. He is an under rated player and has always been in the shadow of Lin Dan, Chen Long, Chen Jin among others. Mental strength is key in bouncing back so quickly. He played a number of 3 game matches on his way to the final. He was never in danger of losing, except against Sameer Verma. He used his experience and mental strength during the crucial moments. He will treasure this moment and silver medal. Lin Dan will take Gold! Okuhara Nozomi proved that her wins in Dubai against Marin C were top class and that she is now a major threat for all players. You cannot relax or hope she falters. She is clinical and has an ability to prolong rallies way too long. Shixian Wang is a class player and is among the few who know how to play Okukara. Japan and China is always a mental battle and physical one. Queen knows how to hold her nerves and win the crucial points. Shixian should win this one provided she keeps her focus. Praveen Jordan/ Debby Susanto are surprise finalists! This shows Indonesia's junior focus is doing wonders for their overall growth. The younger players are playing above potential and making the seniors work harder, which is good. They are up against a strong and experienced pair Joachim FISCHER NIELSEN /Christinna PEDERSEN. The Danes are vulnerable and can crumble when put under pressure. Praveen/Debby have already shown they can withstand pressure with their impressive win over ZHANG Nan /ZHAO Yunlei That win would have given them immense confidence and made them mentally tougher. I think Praveen/Debby will win gold!
1. LD 2. TYT/YY (only if MM/AT aren't ready for yet another marathon) 3. Praveen/Debby 4. WSX (but I'll be even more delighted if NO wins) 5. HE/KH (if they don't choke and take away some accolades)
I won't have any problems even if that happens! But I really want HE/KH and Debby/Praveen to win something "big"
Hmm then I'll do it! Matsutomo/Takahashi are riding on the winning stallion, there convincing victory over the World and Oly champs ZYL/TQ broke many hearts! The certainly improved JPN pair then went on to stun the "Current W#1" the Luo twins 21-12, 21-9 which itself is self sufficient to illustrate their current form! TYT/YY The CHN front runners are unarguably in devastating form! The vehement attack from TYT when blended with the where talented and experience of WC YY makes this pair lethal! The last time they faced each other was Mal Masters where the JPN triumphed! Hayakawa/Endo The "consistent" JPN duo have been convincing throughout this prestigious tourney! They easily dispatched the #3 seeds and one of the fav FuNan express in style, infact the determined Mal duo turned out to be no match for this well combined pair! Its high time they grab a PSS title Their opponents of today Vladimir/Ivan are playing the game of their life, the way they get on top of "formidable" Lee/Too was tether shocking! This "anti-rally" towering Russian duo can either make it or break it! A relentless attacking game is expected! My choice: TYT/YY and HE/KH
If I am THW, I won't for the life of me want to miss such a golden opportunity to beat Lin Dan who is not at his best yet,and simply because I've much more to gain than LD who has won it all.
I thought THW would be the aggressor instead he allowed LD to take the initiative and made a few unforced errors. He's got back a point now and another when LD missed the net for a drop 3-8.
The only things going for THW are youth, fitness and, what I regard as the underdog advantage. Give it your all, THW.
Actually if I were THW, I would've given a lil extra to begin well, so that I have atleast few % chances in the match