An update on the Poll: Gold Vote % 5..........7.......7 4.........11.....12 3........37....39 2........28....29 1.......... 7.......7 0...........6.......6 -------------------- ...........96...100 ============ 1. A total of 96 BCers cast their vote. 2. Highest 37 (39%) voted 3 gold medals. 3. Second highest 28 (29%) voted 2 gold medals. 4. Third highest 11 (12%) voted 4 gold medals 5. The two extremes who voted for 5 and 0 gold medals had the lowest votes of 7 and 6 respectively. So it seems a competition between 3 and 2 gold medals for China is more likely. Uppermost in most minds is whether LD can win another MS Gold medal. We will see who is more accurate after the Rio badminton results.
This is OLY, CHN team preparation is unlike any other events, this is serious business for all the marbles. It is a mistake not to play ZYL/TQ, IMO, they can get the gold. OLY is intense pressure. At major events, CHN players deal with pressure better than most players. MD, WD - slim. MS, WS - probable. XD - likely. I predict 3 golds; MS, WS, XD.
I would say mental and pressure are rather intangible and difficult to quantify. The past 4 years have exposed many good non-China players at numerous international competitions. As a result some of them are able to beat China players when they were unable to do so previously. It means that China players are also subjected to pressure to perform and this has caused them to underperform as well.
Agree with you...but if we look at the CHN players in past OLYs, when it comes to OLY, they elevate and play at higher level. True, this RIO OLY, CHN players are no clear favorites in every events, they 'appear' to be beatable, a very even playing field but a hunch telling me, when OLY unfolds, we will see a different CHN team out there, a different LD/CL...just a hunch.
It is true that Zhang Nan has to do double duties. But looking at the schedules for MD and XD, there may be a chance that XD final will take place on Tuesday evening while MD final on Friday morning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badminton_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics#Schedule WD final, however, will definitely take place on Thursday morning, which I suspect may be one of the reasons why ZYL was not fielded for WD.
Even if XD , MD and WD are played on different weeks, the fact that you start the second discipline after having competed the first already put you at a certain disadvantage as compared with your opponents who start fresh. Besides, whatever happened in the first event will inevitably affect your performance in the second for better or worse. Right, @pcll99, based on what you've posted on the tournament schedules, it becomes clear why ZYL would do well to pull out of either XD or WD, and the latter event is what CBA has chosen for her to do so. A pity Tian Qing has to be sacrificed. If only Team CHN had made better advanced planning and preparations for their other WD combinations to take up the mantle,such as partnering TQ with one of the other prospective partners to form another world-beating pair. Alas, all that is water under the bridge now. The Luo twin sisters will have to come up with something special in Rio, apart from Yu Yang/Tang Yuanting living up to their billing. As for Zhang Nan, seems to me he will be lucky to retain his XD gold on Tuesday, let alone even enter the final as well for MD on Friday later in the week. Always bear in the mind, for any sport at the highest level, specifically for the top few players, it's not so much a contest of skills and physical strength alone but more of experience and mental toughness that decide the medallists. As it is, with the new BWF rule limiting each NOC to maximum two pairs per event, Team CHN's gold quest is already reduced significantly, now other unforeseen circumstances arose to further lessen their chances at winning gold in all five disciplines. Taking everything into account, it now appears that anything more than three golds for Team CHN is a bonus, an over-achievement defying the odds.
For all we know, the twin sisters may be CHN's secret weapon for the 2016 RIO all along. With minimum exposure for the last 12 months and ready to explode for the world to see.
Congrats to all the following 34 knowledgeable members who voted the correct number of 2 gold medals for China, and I am shocked but happy to see my name among them! Poll Results: How many gold medals will China win in Rio? Members who voted for '2 Gold Medals' Loh samkool Mark A Linus CLELY gidong canti gjoo888 renbo wetsvandal Alfysa rajat_remar alex292 KB@TB Em craigandy arjevo phili Penwinack racketman123 Zomania greentee nils.ihse vinay_s scps88 denglar Goggles Diamondx1 Raajneesht Amlite MidCourtMediocrity selasarorg Taiyang Seetharam Polimera dreamland 34 total votes. Those highlighted are familiar names!
Last count: How many gold medals will China win in Rio? 5 Gold Medals 2 vote(s) (7) 2.9% 4 Gold Medals 6 vote(s) (11) 8.8% 3 Gold Medals 24 vote(s) (38) 35.3% * 2 Gold Medals 23 vote(s) (34) 33.8% 1 Gold Medals 7 vote(s) (8) 10.3% 0 Gold Medals 6 vote(s) (8) 8.8% Total votes cast: 106 Most votes 38, went for 3 gold medals. Unfortunately, they were wrong by one gold. And the winner is 2 gold medals. Congrats to the 34 members who voted correctly. They must have made some good analysis and unbiased judgement on the current form of the players.
