Well, the WS category, at least, looks to be fairly representative and uncontroversial. The MS table resembles a vacuum, with only Chou Tien Chen and Momota Kento seeming to be consistent and on top of their game. The WD and MD lists leave an incredibly bad aftertaste (I am expecting to see a little venom fly at the All Japan Championships this week); I haven't followed XD, so no comment there. It takes away from the potential thrill that not necessarily the best players will be represented at the... WTF. As has already been mentioned on this thread, not including lower-ranked tournaments in the count, or in certain cases, allowing up to three participants from one country could make for an event that represents talent a little more accurately.
Yuta should withdraw from MD to make room for KamSon... no way he can do well in both MD and XD disciplines. Especially since he also has to perform in both disciplines in All Japan tournament 2 weeks prior. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
Why? For someone who is self-financed and has traveled very far to play in as many tournaments as she could without a coach most of the time, I think she has earned her spot there.
Hmmm, at least Endo/Watanabe reaches 3 finals. That's more than Liao/Su. I bet every WS players want to be in the same group as Michelle Li Eh, I don't know that she is self-financed. I do know that she has a coach. I don't think Yuta will withdraw from MD. In All Japan last year, Yuta won both MD and XD. He also performs well in both categories in All England this year. He reached SF in MD and become champion in XD.
If she was spoon fed like the top WS players of today, she would be 'tai tzu ting' of canada. But unfortunately, she has to constantly need to search for sponsorship. I am happy that she qualified. Hope she reach finals of WTF and wins it.
I understand it's more difficult for self-financed players but it's not like those "spoon-fed" players don't work their asses off. I mean you can be a billionaire but if you are not good enough..... At the end of the day, I want to see the best compete. That's all. I'd prefer Beiwen over Michelle.
It's Jennifer Lee. There's an interview with her somewhere describing how she coaches Michelle and discusses tactics.
At this level of play, especially when those players are on the road for months it does change everything in terms of logistics and preparation, whether it be mental or physical. Michelle Li just did an interview covering a bit of her struggles being an independent player. It was posted in her thread. I agree with you though, it’s not like the “spoon-fed” players don’t work hard in fact they can work harder and better do so, that’s the only thing they need to focus on, other professionals take care of the whole logistics and pre-tournament preparation for them.
Well, I am just happy if she can beat the top players. She beat RI in All England this year. It's possible that she can beat other top players. This year, Michelle Li gets the chance. Hopefully, ZBW will get the chance next year. Honestly, I prefer ZBW over Michelle Li because ZBW won her first WT500 title.
But I can't remember the last time I saw Jennifer Lee courtside at one of Michelle Li's matches. Clearly, she has plenty of challenges that the world's top 10 don't have in terms of the travelling and planning she has to do without a support staff and even if she does have someone courtside, it can't be easy when it is not the same coach who manages your training at home.
According to Jennifer Li, for Michelle Li to get into the top 5 in world ranking, she has to increase her strength and endurance as well as improve on her technical skills.
Not the same for all players. Have you ever seen Chen Long tired or complained of fatigue ? Same goes for Son Wan Ho, Chou Tien Chen but he overstretched himself playing non-stop, Tommy Sugiarto, Saina Nehwal, Tai Tzu Ying, Carolina Marin, Akane Yamaguchi, just to name these few, more or less. Generally, some cases are more obvious than others. I agree with Jennifer Li's assessment of Michelle Li.
