Without LCW, Lin Dan is even less motivated to play at Dubai, nothing to do with Tian Houwei. Why would he want to help his fellow teammate get ahead of him in the OG cycle?
For WS, I wonder if both WSX and WYH are in their shape and form to do well at Dubai. Perhaps it might be a good idea for either one to make way for LXR. But, wait a minute, with LXR ranked #3 whilst WSX and WYH are at #6 and #8 respectively in the BWF world ranking, I suppose neither of them would be willing to do that.
Saina is still in pain. Her coach vimal said : "She's been having a bit of a pain in the ankle," "She's been working with the physio and trainer for the last three weeks, trying to strengthen that area. Not much of badminton (in her preparation), only standing strokes. But since this is the year-ending and an important tournament, she has certain commitments, including with the World Badminton Federation (BWF), so she needs to be there." She is there to fulfull BWF's commitments. We know how well she will be received in Dubai. This time, i must say , she may be defeated by all the players in the group. She is not fit yet. But ,Her dedication to the sport is remarkable. Sindhu need to watch her compatriot and learn one or two lessons from her senior about how to handle pressure and how to play consistently in the circuit without losing to unknown players.
If that's the case, not worth taking the risk for Saina esp when her OG spot is not under any threat. We'll have to see how she fare in the opening round or the group stage before drawing any conclusions.
There is a separate fan club for Saina called "Saina Squad" , who will be flown free of cost by Star sports channel in order to cheer their idol. Remarkable . Though i may consider this to be a boost for saina , her fitness level is really a concern for me.
Here is the ad by Star sports to join Saina squad and to fly dubai. [video=youtube;5z1NVWOmTK0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z1NVWOmTK0[/video]
The SSF is the 12th of the Superseries, practically the final tournament for all eight qualifiers, excluding the GPGs and others. I won't be surprised if all of them are in varying degrees of fatigue, both physically and mentally, at the end of a long year. I wonder how Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, both of whom are doing double duty, will perform at this season ending finale. Perhaps, the golden couple is using the intense competition as a kind of Olympic test to convince their coaches and LYB of their abilities to handle the extra heavy workload ?
This is less of a boost for Saina and more of a boost for SS and BWF coz in a place like Dubai a South Asian athlete will be cheered without any gimmicks. Although I hope the Saina Squad boos loudly every time Noise Pollution screams nastily.
First glimpse of how Badminton world will look after Rio Olympics i.e. after retirement of Lin Dan and LCW.
Instead of speculating on whether LD withdraws just to give some ranking points to THW or whether Saina's performance will be affected by her ankle pain, why don't we just pray for the people of Chennai who are experiencing one of the worst floods ever. The videos I saw are frightening. Hope Ajay Jayaram's family is not affected. If I am not mistaken he is from Tamil Nadu.
Ajay jayaram is not from chennai. He is from Mumbai. Though his ancestors are from chennai, his family chose mumbai to settle. Here i am , one of the witness of this devastating flood. Fortunately, my area is recovering faster than many areas which are still under water and darkness. May gold help them.
Kakiiwa/Maeda also pulled out and replaced by their teammates Naoko Fukuman/Kurumi Yonao => http://www.badzine.net/news/lin-out-tian-in-for-superseries-finals/36457/
Mixed Doubles Draw => https://twitter.com/BWFDubaiFinals GROUP A Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei (CHN) Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (INA) Lee Chun Hei/Chau Hoi Wah (HKG) Chris Adcock/Gabrielle Adcock (ENG) GROUP B Liu Cheng/Bao Yixin (CHN) Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na (KOR) Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christinna Pedersen (DEN) Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto (INA)
Women's Doubles Draw GROUP A Luo Ying/Luo Yu (CHN) Misaki Matsutomo (JPN) Chae Yoo Jung/Kim So Yeong (KOR) Naoko Fukuman/Kurumi Yonao (JPN) GROUP B Christinna Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN) Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii (INA) Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei (CHN) Eefje Muskens/Selena Piek (NED)
Men's Doubles Draw GROUP A Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong (KOR) Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa (JPN) Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan (CHN) Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA) GROUP B Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (DEN) Chai Biao/Hong Wei (CHN) Mads Conrad-Petersen/Mads Pieler Kolding (DEN) Kim Gi Jung/Kim Sa Rang (KOR)
Women's Singles Draw GROUP A Carolina Marin (ESP) Nozomi Okuhara (JPN) Saina Nehwal (IND) Tai Tzu Ying (TPE) GROUP B Wang Shixian (CHN) Wang Yihan (CHN) Ratchanok Intanon (THA) Sung Ji Hyun (KOR)
Men's Singles Draw GROUP A Chen Long (CHN) Jan O Jorgensen (DEN) Tian Houwei (CHN) Hu Yun (HKG) GROUP B Kento Momota (JPN) Viktor Axelsen (DEN) Chou Tien Chen (TPE) K. Srikanth (IND)
