Of course RS did not stand still during these 4 years. He has improved his all-round skills, he is mentally more prepared and he is more experienced. The fact that despite his many setbacks, particularly his Achilles tendon injury, he is able to bounce back to even qualify for the Olympics and have a another chance at glory. Imagine what a man he has become if he should win an Olympic medal!
RS is not an ordinary player. If he is able to make the grade after injury and even beat Kendrick Lee to it, and he kept on with his regular training and preparation for the Beijing Olympics, he has to improve.
Underdog? Tell that to Susilo The Straits Times August 6 2008 By Jeanette Wang Singapore shuttler is confident he can beat world No. 2 Lee in first match I'M READY. So declared Ronald Susilo yesterday, before joining the rest of Singapore's Olympic badminton team as they left for Beijing. He was smiling, even though they had to change planes because of an air-conditioning problem - and left from Changi Airport's Terminal 3 four hours after their schedule 8.30am flight. They reached Beijing safely, at 7pm. Susilo was armed with seven Yonex rackets and a return flight booked for Aug 19 - which is two days after the men's singles final. The world No 32 wants to go the distance in his second Games. And that means upsetting the favourite, Malaysian world No 2 Lee Chong Wei, in his opening game on Monday. The underdog? Susilo, 29, a quarter-finalist at Athens 2004, does not think he is. "Chong Wei is a good opponent but I think I have a chance to take him because I've beaten him before," said Susilo, who is tied 2-2 with Lee in their career meetings. "There is definitely pressure, but it's my motivation." Four years ago, when faced with an opening match against China's world No 1 Lin Dan, there was not even a whiff of that kind of confidence in him. Jacqueline Lim, Singapore Badminton Association's (SBA) of high performance and development, recalled: "When I broke the news of the draw to Ronald then, he was so upset. This time around, when I told him he was drawn to play Lee, he said, 'Okay, can'." Unseeded in Athens, he upset Lin in straight sets, despite his 1-3 career record against the top seed. Said Lim: "Ronald has experienced an upset, thats why he's more calm this time." Lee, fit as a fiddle and lightning quick on the court, is in great form and has been tipped by observers to topple world No 1 Lin. But Susilo, who had a two-week training camp with South Korea's first team in Jeju last month, knows Games matches can be unpredictable. In Athens, none of the top six seeds made it to the podium. The gold was claimed by the unseeded Indonesian Taufik Hidayat. In Sydney 2000, Chinese seventh seed Ji Xinpeng won the title. Xing Aiying, Singapore's world No 24 women's player, knows anything can happen in her Games debut, too. "I'm not nervous, I'm excited," she said. "I don't feel any pressure, the pressure is on my opponents." Former SBA president and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Mr Lim Swee Say, who was among some 60 people at the airport farewell yesterday, said he was "very happy" the team were going to the Olympics "with the right frame of mind". "Are you ready?' he asked Susilo. The shuttler's reply was swift and confident: "I'm ready."
Well our slogan for this year's National Day celebrations is: "CELEBRATING THE SINGAPORE SPIRIT" We don't invoke the "Boleh spirits"!
I do not have doubts about LCW but I have respect to Ronald. He is a true fighter and he will fight until the last....if LCW is caught napping. That is why I predicted 3 sets and close encounters. During this initial stage everyone will be nervous including Ronald and LCW. Nobody wants to makes mistakes...they will play carefully and this will results in longer rally. Whoever patient will wins. Those who rush will make unforced errors. Every points counts. So the one who makes the least mistakes will win this tie.
Enough talking, it's time for these 2 players to put their money where their mouths are (or in Loh's case, where his false teeth are ). We've analysed this to death on BC. Everyone has had their say. Time to play the darn game.
which is another dug-up history kendrick lee lost to lu yi who is only a second team player, how about that? its never ending...
Lee Chong Wei should have a good start in his opening match against Ronald Susilo such as leading 7-0, or 10-0 in the first game. He did it against Lin Dan in Thomas Cup and led 15-0 against Simon Santoso in S'pore Super Series. No way Ronald could match LCW. LCW is at his peak in his badminton career.
Well, there was also an occasion at the 2008 Thomas Cup when Lee Chong Wei struggled quite a bit... that was the match against Andrew Smith It's not rare for the extraordinary to fall to the ordinary. It's happened with Rudy Hartono, Zhao Jianhua and Yang Yang. It's also happened with Peter Gade, Lin Dan and Taufik Hidayat. This month, it could be Lee Chong Wei's turn
