Kim sarang is on-form recently, winning the China Open and narrowly losing to Ahsan/Hendra in HK Open but Kim ki jung has too many unforced errors and Ko/Shin is on poor form recently (i think Ko is playing too many games in XD where they reach later rounds consistently)
True Kim Ki Jung made a lot of unforced errors, especially in the recent HK Opened match against ahsan/setiawan.
To be honest I felt that both Kim Gi Jung / Kim Sa Rang performance has improved a lot this year. I just hope that both of them will be able to maintain their good performance till Olympics 2016.
Kim Gi Jung needs to be more consistent, esp in serving/return than current (ask LYD to train him !) Kim sarang's speed and reaction/anticipation improved alot now, he still has a few unforced errors here and there, but definitely much less than before
KSR playing singles..... left handed! Is he ambidextrous? [video=youtube;HJgCGJjZ1Do]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJgCGJjZ1Do#t=145.37[/video]
I think he was playing it for fun. Sometimes in my club, while playing against advanced player, we sometimes ask crazy requests, like they can play left-handed (if they are right handed), or let a few points before the game, and it was just for fun and create some balance between advance and beginner players.
He was just messing around and plus, he's probably not been trained as a singles player. I'm just very impressed by the quality of the strokes when he plays left handed. I doubt there are many that can play as well with their other hand.
Take note: Not only the hand change. The domination and role of left and right foot, too. Sometimes when I need to explain left-handed kids a stroke etc. I switch from right to left hand. Even just for a stroke and steps it feels very strange and jerky. Don't be too hard.
Actually, if you change your hand, you have to change all the footwork as well I suppose! That must be very difficult, so his clumsiness is in fact not bad at all!
Side note: I'm pretty sure KSR was a singles player and only changed to doubles shortly before partnering KGJ. Gill Clark mentioned something like it in one of their first tournaments together.
Actually, the only time Kim Sa Rang was at the WJC was in 2007, when Tago was beaten by Chen Long in the final. Kim beat Wong Wing Ki, then lost to Arif. In the AJC that same year, both he and Tago were beaten by Lim Fang Yang. The win over Tago which Gill Clark often mentions happened at the Badminton Asia Championships in Suwon in 2009. He got very little playing time the following year but did beat Shoji Sato in the TUC preliminaries. He and Kim Ki Jung started up together at the Korea Open in 2011. Shin had retired from a match at the Korea GP shortly after winning the Asian Games. Neither he nor Kim Ki Jung, his regular MD partner, were entered in the Malaysia Open in 2011. Shin was entered in the Korea Open that January with Jung Kyung Eun but didn't play. His next tournament was on the European tour that year.
Ahh I see, thanks for clearing that up. When he got paired with KKJ wasn't he supposed to be more of the "supportive player" and KKJ the "net player?"
When Kim was playing with Shin Baek Cheol, he acknowledged that his strength was as a defensive player so being paired with a tall partner with an effective smash was appropriate. When Kim Sa Rang had to step in basically as a substitute for Shin, Kim Ki Jung then acknowledged that they weren't looking to depend on the new guy for his smashing power. It was his speed that the coaches saw as an asset so the new pair's strategy and their roles had to adapt to the new set of strengths.
The thread title has been trimmed to show only the players' names. This is to bring uniformity to all the players' threads in the Professional Players section.
I can only hope Kim SR is "on" in Rio - when he is, he's an absolute blast to watch. Take that ridiculous 2012 All England match against Japan - furious pace, and massive power and angle. The friggin highlight reel was over eight minutes long. Gi-Jung is a rock; it'll be Sa-Rang that makes the difference (and I'm annoyed that they boxed Shin BC out of the MD, so I'll be pretty cheesed off if the Kims blow it).
