didnt count their numbers but MAL are sure more dedicated and more vocal...erm ... noisier http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33871
hehe.. I would support LD if he changes his attitude.. I felt he is too arragont when playing on court... just cannot stand it anyway peace
they are equally good I think LD and LCW are equally good from begining of the year, for upcoming games both of them will have 50/50 chance to win. there is only one winner for each game, for me, who is winner is not important, the most important thing is that the game is wonderful and the players did their best.
Lin Dan & Lee Chong Wei: Evolving Perfection To start off I just downloaded and watched the match Monday nite. It was amazing, I can’t believe how much Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei have pushed each other to get better. If they continue to play like this and improve I don’t think Taufik can catch up. It was a tight match that left me w/ a feeling I had witnessed a state of evolving perfection and left me w/ questions about why it was such a compelling experience. So as always when I am intrigued I turn to match analysis to bring some clarity to the situation. First strengths of the two players: LCW -Efficient footwork -Rallying ability -Net play LD -Explosive attack -Mental toughness -Tactical flexibility Strategies going into the Match: For Lee Chong Wei his strategy was to control the net and take advantage of his superiour rally ability and extend the points. By forcing longer rallies he forces his opponent into errors and utilizes his efficient footwork while making his opponent expend more energy than himself. The longer the game goes on the more vulnerable his opponent will be to fatigue and errors. For Lin Dan the critical point of his strategy is to disrupt Lee’s rhythm by neutralizing his control at the net and by shortening the rallies w/ quick attacks and flexible shot making. So on what I call option shots LD will attack and try to end the point quickly and avoid the long rallies that LCW favours. Thus he levels the playing field and the game comes down to a test of willpower & focus. Match Analysis Both players have improved markedly as other posters indicated. Lee’s defence notably his backhand defence is much better. LD could no longer pound on that wing to force points like in AE2006. On Lin Dan’s side his net play was vastly improved with LD often winning the contest at the net contrasting w/ previous matches. As the match progressed some trends emerged that made it a compelling contest. Firstly LCW tried to implement his plan to seize control of the net and run LD ragged in the back court. On clear opportunities Lee would attack and try to use his cross court smash or force errors w/ attacking clears off LD’s looser shots at the net. To counter Lin Dan challenged Lee at the net and in Macau he was successful in keeping his shots tight and not giving LCW opportunities. In fact he clearly beat Lee several times at the net which was surprising. Secondly he disrupted Lee’s normal pattern of playing tight on the net by mixing in a large number of flick clears. I believe these did a lot of damage especially in the 3rd game as Lee had to eventually back off the net to guard against flicks to the corners. As a result LCW lost his ability to set points up and was not able to pressurize LD or challenge his stamina reserves as much as he wanted. Overall, I would give Lin Dan the advantage in the front court play as a result. As the match progressed LCW attempted to use his other great strength to force long rallies and create opportunities to attack. However LD was constantly duelling with him to seize control of the rallies by utilizing quick attacks notably some deceptive round the head inside out smashes cross court. Almost a power reverse slice I would say. Wild! Lee picked up on it in the 3rd game but not before LD got 3-4 points from it. LCW was successful in winning the longer rallies, but Lin Dan often exploded especially out of his backhand corner to force openings on what I call option shots i.e. 50-50 situations where u could choose to attack or build the rally. It paid off enough in Macau to make it a viable option. In the back court I would say it was even, no player had a clear advantage. The only pattern I can notice is that LD is more opportunistic and will take the chance to attack whereas LCW is more a rhythm player, he prefers a longer build up before attacking. It worked for Lin Dan as he minimized the longer rallies and also disrupted LCW’s rhythm enough to take Lee’s footwork out of the equation and neutralize LCW’s rally advantage. So what about the contest of wills? True to form Lin Dan hung tough during the critical junctures except for the 2nd game where he threw away some points before settling back down. Lee didn’t fare as well and LD was able to close the match out but not without some major counter moves and countering of counter moves. I have to say the new system does not usually favour comebacks, you have be twice as strong mentally as taking chances and not converting on your own serve are punished severely. Post Match Musings A tight match but on the critical points Lin Dan was able to seize control while Lee made errors when he needed to force the initiative else LCW was consistent. My thoughts are Lee is not a natural attacker and is more comfortable forcing his opponents into errors rather than actively seeking to end the point. He also lacks a goto shot to end the point and prefers to generate a clear opening before attacking. I believe to progress further LCW either needs to develop a forcing style of play (he has the shots) for the critical times or stick to his current style & trust that in the end his opponent will make an error. It goes w/o saying that he has buckle down and minimize his own errors at those points. Currently I believe Lee is caught in between and unsure if he should stick w/ his own style or attack and this confusion is principally responsible for his errors. Lin Dan is a natural attacker who is flexible enough to grind out points and adopt new tactics. His only advantage is this tactical flexibility and his clear focus in pressure situations to seize the opportunity to take the point. Nevertheless Lee is right on Lin Dan’s heels. I believe only w/ these new tactical maneuvers was LD able to win in Macau. The attacking approach was riskier, but allowed LD to play his strengths of attacking and forcing play rather than LCW’s of long rallies and point construction. As another poster noted LD played higher risk badminton and committed more errors but also hit more outright winners. I am sure LCW will adjust and they will be back at it again. I am curious to see if Lee can add another dimension to his game and adopt forceful play or if he will continue to stick w/ his current approach. On a personal note I believe he will be better off if he can develop the killer instinct to finish points off to complement his efficient rally play. The player who can adapt to the rhythms of the match more quickly will ultimately be the winner. I don’t think any one style can dominate anymore. Looking forward to the next Clash! Derek
This is the "soft skills" that LCW lacks while LD is the master of it. If IBF wants to promote badminton, now its the golden opportunity to add some spice to this sports. IBF can help to create two fierce rivals to make every tournament more interesting. Last year, I was only interested in 6 stars tournaments. This year, even 3 stars or 4 stars tournaments attract my interest simply because I want to see LD and LCW to put up another dog fight in finals. As a badminton fan, I want to see these two top players do things to irritate each other, I want to see them insult each other on the media, I want to see them play like its about life and death. This creates excitement and attracts audience !!! Thai Open....forget about it. If LCW and LD are not there, I am not interested anymore.
