After reading all this negative feedback against Jane Hancock in the Men's Doubles Final, I wonder if all the Malaysians would be just as critical of her if the outcome was reversed? If say Jane Hancock had made the "bad" call against the Danes when Malaysia was serving instead, and that call favoured Malaysia winning the final, would they be just as quick to criticise and demand that Jane Hancock be sacked, banned or trampled on by a herd of elephants? Would they also demand that the trophy be returned and the game be replayed??? Hmmmm.......I DIDN"T THINK SO.......
There is now three or four threads related to this. The controversy is definitely a major one, as this happened during a large tournament as AE. I really hope there won't be anything of such in Athens soon. Sour grapes? Not sure, but there is definitely a lot of opinions there. I think you can make your own judgement based on the threads. Let's just say that we're likely to favour certain side, regardless of the incident, based on reasons I don't want to mention here.
Yes Wil, I agree that in sport, people take sides, and point of views would depend on which side people support. But my main point here is that this kinda controversy happens all the time everyday, even on much bigger events such as the Olympics, Rugby or Soccer World Cups, NBA Playoffs etc....my point being, people shouldn't make statements about referees or umpires to be sacked or dragged out in the streets and shot, just because they made an error in judgement. Afterall, umpires are human too and live on this earth. Where I come from on this planet earth, sh*t happens and humans make mistakes! People should get over it or go find another planet....
That is exactly my point. The winners had been determined, the trophies handed out. Don't get me wrong though - I salute Lundgaard/Eriksen for their win; they won it fair and square. They are blameless, in which I think the majority would agree. What many can't agree however, is whether the umpire had made a mistake or if Choong / Lee would have won it if things happened the other way round. The 'what if' question is a great big one. The only reason it's such a fuss, even though it happens in all sports, perhaps is because #1 Choong / Lee have shown much form of late, and are great favourites to win it. In short, the Danes were 'underdogs'. #2 Similar incidents during Gade vs Lin brought about similar comparison. Onwards to Athens, and hopefully, no more of such mistakes. You can see from my location that I am pro Choong/Lee but this time, I have nothing to say but they lost because of themselves. Mental strength is what differentiates between winners and also-rans. A sincere congratulations to Lundgaard/Eriksen.
Forumers are human, too. Sour grapes is part of humanity. Saying all sorts of things but never actually doing it, is human, too. And given that almost anybody in the world can post a message here but only a fraction of humanity can be badminton umpires in high-class tournaments, I'd say we expect more "human" traits to appear in the forum than in umpiring.
- I think in recent months Choong and Lee played very well and beyond expectations. I think they were a little unlucky in AE Final but a miss is as good as a mile and time to learn.I think they are quite talented too and have won many crucial matches before. For a while I thought they had won, maybe they thought so, happens all the time and there are other tours. I think the coaches firm way of punishing players is slowly making them better.
I believe revenge is a dish best served cold... I sincerely hope that if Malaysia's Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah ever meet Denmark's Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen in a final again, Malaysia will give Denmark some good b*tt whoopin!!! Go Malaysia!
