I’m sure there are good reasons behind that but I just cannot think of a good one. With 38 players in the singles I presume there will be 8 groups in the preliminary stages with the top 2 into the last 16. But why the numbers of players are not divisible by 8? 38 means most likely will be 6 groups of 5 plus 2 groups of 4. Therefore, most players have to play 4 matches to get into the last 16 plus 4 more include the final. From the schedules already published, in order to win the singles Gold in London, MS has to play 7 days in a row with one day’s rest and play the final on Day 9. And if you’re lucky enough to be the 38 WS you will be playing 8 days in a row. For the record, the 2008 Olympics there were 41 players in the R64 MS draw thus most players had a bye in the first round, thus 5 matches in total similar to the bread and butter Superseries they used to. One of the reason obviously is to get rid of the oldies or at least to scare them off so that they won’t waste that valuable qualify place. So, they tailored a system to have winners in the age group of 24-26. Nice one to appeal to the young global audiences. Can you imagine that poor guy/girl ranked 201 or thereabout qualified for Olympics not by merit but just by where he/she born was hoping to just check in and play his/her first and only match with the rest of the 2 weeks shopping in London? Now, thanks to the Olympics Committee he/she got the chance to be hammered 4 times instead. So much for the Olympics experience! So, is it the case they tried to fix something that was not broken?
Yes, next yr's Olympic will see a bit of difference in playing format and there's a reason for having a group play and then elimination Rd. for all events. This was the explanation given to me from BWF: "There will be group play in London Olympics to give majority of players chance to play at least two matches, also more TV broadcast hours globally. As far as putting burden on older players, nobody is trying to put burden on older players. We want star players to continue to play longer and help us promote the games."
interesting! at least 2 matches means gorups of 3? how many groups are we going to have? 16 with only the winners go thro? so, with 38 players some of the groups with only 2 players! as to promote the games i cant see people glued to the tv for the prelim group matches.
There will be 16 groups and at most 4 players per group. The assignment of players to the various groups have been explained in the BWF website: http://bwfbadminton.org/file_download.aspx?id=22472 (page 2). Correct me if I am wrong, but I think these will happen: 1. The top 4 seeds WILL NOT PLAY in the group matches. They will be placed into Group A, E, L, P and if only 38 players are competing, then, they will be the only player in those groups. 2. For seed no 5-8, Group C & N will have 2 players each, so, these players will square off against each other). Meanwhile Group G & J will have 3 players each (so, these players will play 2 matches). 3. For seed no 9-16, the players will have to play 2 matches each also. 4. The group winners will then be placed in a knock-out draw, with positions in the draw already determined before hand (ie: Winner of Group A will square off against winner of Group B in R16). If this is really the case, Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan will probably need to win only 4 matches to become the Olympics Champion.
Even if they are not the top 2 seeds, they will SURELY be among the top 4 seeds. The top 4 only needs to play 4 matches, if the scenario presented above is correct.
From the BWF website, is the Olympic Games Statement of badminton Requirement: http://www.bwfbadminton.org/file_download.aspx?id=22473 Here is an excerpt: 2. PERIOD OF COMPETITION [FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]This will vary according to the number of competitors, but must always be at least nine days. In 2012 (with 172 players) the competition will be played over nine days. The schedule assumes three sessions of play each day until the later stages of the competition. [/FONT][/FONT]3. NUMBER OF COMPETITORS [FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]The number of competitors for 2012 is 172. The IOC decides the number of competitors. [/FONT][/FONT]
From the BWF website again, the document on the qualification system for the OG: http://www.bwfbadminton.org/file_download.aspx?id=22692 The relevant part is I think, the following that deals with the TPC allocations: [TABLE] [TR] [TD]TRIPARTITE COMMISSION PLACES [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Six (6) Tripartite Commission Invitation Places in Singles are made available for eligible NOCs. On 1 November 2011, the International Olympic Committee will contact all those NOCs who are eligible to apply for Tripartite Commission Invitation Places. The deadline for NOCs to submit their requests for Tripartite Commission Invitation Places is 16 January 2012. In relation to the end of the qualification period, the Tripartite Commission will confirm, in writing, the allocation of invitation places to the respective NOCs between 1 May and 9 July 2012. Detailed information on Tripartite Invitation places is contained in the – Tripartite Commission Invitation Places - Information Paper for NOCs – which is included in the Games of the XXX Olympiad, London 2012 Qualification and Participation Criteria. [/FONT][/FONT] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
one way is to do a qualifying rounds where every player gets a second chance. If the loose the second game, they are out. Too bad. The main draw should be allocated to the top 32 world's best players.
hahaha man i really need some good hours of sleep now, i've been sleeping at 2am for the last 2 or 3 weeks I'll let you know just in case i change my mind on this thing
Celebrating the TDF win . Not only Yoppy was celebrating Cadel Evans winning the 2011 Tour de France; But all in Australia are just so happy for him. .
Another note from BWF : Number of entries for MS and WS in Olympic games are variable, depending on spot available after all doubles are fill. Also 16 group play in Singles. As for BWF promoting the games, eventhough not many people will be glued to their teevee for the prelim group matches, the idea is to just expose the sport as much and as long as possible to the rest of the world.
