LD isn't nearly as fit as he was before. Even in the OG, up to his game against LCW, LD played a defensive style to conserve energy in the early rounds. LD expended all his energy in the LCW match. After that, he was out of breath against Viktor Axelsen. LD typically plays a slower, defensive style these days to conserve energy. He is so skilled though, that he can play equal to many top players even with such a defensive style. He's 33/34 years old though so it's expected he won't be as fit as before. However, I don't think he is putting the training in to keep fit the same way LCW has been training.
Well said. I just wonder what will make Lin Dan train harder. Perhaps, Xie Xingfang telling him to win a few more trophies for his dear son to play as toys; those in the cabinet, she doesn't want to touch, preferring to use the new ones before displaying them in the cabinet later.
Phew! What a Gigantic struggle by Lin Dan. This match looked like it will never end. Lin Dan should have taken the 2nd game when he was leading 13-8 but to be honest, we have to give credit to SWH. He just turned on the heat so hot that even Lin Dan had to let the game slip by. Great Fight and Great resilience in the 3rd game.
Lin Dan prevailed in 84 minutes match that drained energy so much, he's showing to his juniors what they must to do, hopefully he's still fit enough to face most likely Lee Chong Wei tomorrow!
Somehow I still feel that Son Wan Ho didn't make the most of his chances as Lin Dan wasn't playing as forcefully and sharp, relatively speaking, as he was yesterday against Jonantan, esp in G3.
Correct, Lin Dan is not entered for the SIN Open next week but he'll be playing the CHN Masters followed by the the BAC back-to-back the week after.
It must be admitted that LCW is more spartan in his investment in the badminton, much focus in training thus his fitness is still quite excellent at his age let alone his skills. Prolly still has something much to chase thus totally committed. Not many athletes are willing to do so at his status & position.
SWH really don't attack much in third set, right? He could have give more fight but tend to play rallies. Anyway, LD still managed to win in a gruelling 27-25, 19-21, 21-16 over him.
But can Lin Dan go ahead any of either Shi Yuqi, Tian Houwei, or Chen Long in the Glasgow World Champs rankings? Right now, he is sitting at 19th spot, a full 18,000 points behind Shi Yuqi, with only two more ranking events left: Malaysia Open, and China Masters.
Will tomorrow's MS final be a repeat of 2005, 2006 editions of Malaysia Open. I think you could say yes by now.
I don't contend the points you've presented here. I'm just saying that LD these days is still a very fit player--that's unquestionable. I'm not comparing his fitness now with when he was at his peak--of course he was much fitter back then. What I mean is that even if he's not the superhuman he once was, he's still a phenomenal athlete capable of outlasting the likes of even Son Wan Ho. Regarding that Olympic campaign, I still think LD was not tired towards the end of his semifinal against LCW (just look at how he ran for that shuttle at 20-19); however, he really was sluggish against Axelsen, but he was also really mentally spent by then--there was no fight left in him after the semifinal loss.
Oh! That. I don't think it will happen here. I am more worried if Lin Dan will be able to qualify for World Champs. He is fourth Chinese player right now, and the rest three can easily give many reasons why they should not be dropped. The best candidate to drop for Lin Dan is Tian Houwei, but I fear that Chinese selectors might choose Tian Houwei. Chinese members here, please create a Chinese blog, and a pressure group to make sure that Lin Dan is chosen. Lin Dan is behind on the list, only because he was in a phase of no participation after Olympics. He has only played 7 events for the list right now, and with only two events to go, will be even short of 10 tournaments. I would say, one needs at least 13 tournaments for a good ranking. (Because you can mess up and exit early in some tournaments)
