The advantage for PG to be 4th will be seedings. If he were lower seeded he could meet one of the others in qf, thus low chance to medal. On the other hand if he meets a big player in QF and wins, he may have better chance to reach final!
I agree. The only advantage Peter get from the 4th seeding is that it will be easier for him to reach the semifinal. We need to think what is the reasonable goal PG want to achieve at London Olympics. If he just wants to enjoy the games and shows the world that he is still world class player despite age of 35 and doesn't mind where he finishes in the games , he really doesn't have to risk his injury to compete with C J. If he wants to beat the odd to get a medal, then the 4th seeding may improve the chance just a little bit. Even he is at 4th seeding, he still needs to beat at least one of the big three (LCW, LD and CL) to get the medal. To be honest the chance is very small but not equal to 0. On the other hand, if he is below 4th seeding, he have to beat at least two of the big 4 (include Chen Jin) and I think the chance is almost 0.
If he is still nursing the current injury that forced him out of Swiss Open, then chances of him winning a medal is zero. Depends on the draw, i bet he can take on any player outside top 10 but fit players like Santoso, Tago and Sasaki will have no problem taking him out. The true test lies in the QF which who is the eventual champion that will beat him . If he meets lee chong wei, then it's goodbye to him. 100 Percent he will lose the match unless LCW's shoulder starts complaining again, that might still give him a 0.000000001 percent chance of winning
I think PG has thought through what we discussed here and he has played down the priority to get 4th seedings recently. If i were PG, I just make sure I recover well prior to olympics and give the best shot at the biggest games this year. Even he loss to anyone of the big 4 in a Quarter Final after a good fight, nobody will really blame him. I pretty sure every one would still respect him as mighty warrior at age of 35. If he risks his ankle injury to fight and get the 4th seeding, there is possiblity he may aggravate his injury and may not recover in time for the big games. It would be really a sad ending for his career if he loss in the early round because of the injury.
If he really worries about his ankle he surely wouldnt play european if he didnt care about 4th seeding place?
I thought we established that he does want the 4th seeding because it'll give him less chance of facing two of the "big 4" players at the Olympics. He has a better shot of getting a medal (which I'm pretty sure he wants to try for) if he only has to face one them.
To be honest, nobody really knows how serious is PG ankle injury apart from Demark team. We probably have better ideas at EC and see how good he can play at his current condition. I have a look the draw of Indian open SS. If they both play well they will meet at semifinal. However, before this, they both have to beat a very good player. Chen Jin have to beat LHI and PG needs to beat JOJ. I personally believe the semifinal is the ultimate battle between them. However, If Chen Jin win the BAC and Peter only get runner up at EC then LCW is crucial to decide who get 4th ranking. If LCW plays his normal games and is hunger for the title as usual I will suggest C J don't bother to come to Indian open SS because Peter won't get enough point even he makes to Final. On the other hand if LCW has intention to help PG then C J have to beat PG to qualify for Olympics.
At least PG has the benefit of playing JOJ, a player also on the Denmark team. Only one will go to OG so the coach might arrange something there? I doubt LHI will have any reason to help the China team though.
No, Denmark will have two entries as they have 3 players in the top 16. Thus, the best two will go, although Peter is in no danger at all concerning the actual qualification. JOJ and HKV still have to battle it out though.
Denmark can pick any 2 of the 3 in the top 16. If PG is not fit enough it's obviously better send the two youngsters instead
Well I seriously doubt they'll pick one of the two over Peter Gade, who is retiring after these Games and should get one or two rounds further in any case...
My impression is that the battle between JOJ and HKV is as intense as it between CJ and PG. Both EU and India open SS will decide who will get the last spot for Denmark. Alan may have better idea.
On the side note, Ai Goto is closing in to the top 16 to join Sayaka Sato in the London Olympics. However, does Japan reserve the right to replace Sayaka Sato over Eriko Hirose?????
Well, when a nation has more players in qualifying positions than they can actually send (more than 3, more than 2 in the Top16) they can choose freely between all players. Although the normal way is to choose the best ranked as they have earned that ranking by performing better.
I am not very familiar with Japanese WS players. My impression is that Eriko Hirose is quite an experience player for a big game. So, I think they are likey will keep her.
I understand now. So now if Hirose doesn't make it to top 16, Japan has no option but to send Ai Goto and Sayaka Sato since she is not in the qualifying position. '