this IS depressing for me,,,,, well, that could be becos: -the danes are just too great -they werent at their best -they felt burdened becos they were the only indo's hope but, not to take anything away from je/mlh, all respects for them, i think it could have turned the other way , especially in the last 2 sets, becos those were so close
:crying: :crying: :crying: CHANDRA & SIGIT LOST????? HUHUHU......:crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying:
My heart almost jumped out when i watched the MD.. I was rooting for indo!! but they a few of their shots were wide in the last few points... guess that's wat which caused their downfall...:crying::crying::crying:
:crying: :crying: Indeed close!! I thought that the Indonesians would have won the title judging from their first set. They were just too good for the Danes. However, in the next two sets, Eriksen - Lundgaard Hansen were much better and they were a couple of exciting rallies!! Anyway, it's nice to see that Candra - Sigit playing together quite impressive Mm...Candra - Sigit felt the burden?? I don't think so, they are an experience pair and this is only Korean Open, not the World Championship or any really BIG tourney
Not really a surprise with the outcome of the tourney. The Danes and the Koreans should've dominated their related field, esp. with the absence of the top Chinese, Indo and Malaysians players. I read in WorldBadmintonOnline website that there were minor controversies during the MD finals. In the 2nd set when the Indos were leading with 2 pts remaining, for some reason when they asked the Denmark team to change to a new shuttlecock, the Danes refused. Thus the Danes rallied and won the 2nd set. I don't know what happened to Candra/Sigit, must've lost their concentration. Then in the 3rd set, when the Danes were leading by a bigger margin, they asked the Indos to change the shuttlecock, but the Indos refused. Thus Candra/Sigit rallied and actually took the lead with 2 more pts. remaining However, the Danes rallied back and won the match. Overall, i think it could've gone to either way. IMO, Candra/Sigit should've stay concentrated in the 2nd set, hard it might be, and try to take back the service again and finish off the match. Plus their opponent JEriksen/MLHansen are not new to them, are very experienced, and just as equal as Candra/Sigit. Anyway, they should meet often again this yr., esp in the upcoming AE, SC, and WC tourneys, and more encounter between them would be something to watch,esp. with this little incident.....
I am not surprise that Korea get 3 titles and Denmark get 2 titles. China and Malaysia send their 2nd troops. Indo was not complete. I am not underestimate the winners, they deserved to win. Surprise is Nova/Lelyana lost in semi and Candra/Sigit (my favourite) lost in final. I hope that China, Malaysia and Indo will back in All England or maybe earlyer in German Open (if they will come).
China isn't strong in XD? The only pair that could consistently beat Zhang Jun and Gao Ling was Kim Dong-moon and Na(Ra) Kyung-min and they've retired. Even in Men's Doubles, Fu/Cai and Sang/Zheng are very closely matched with both of Denmark's top pairs with the only thing close to dominance being Rasmussen/Paaske's 3-1 record against Fu/Cai (and they're 1-1 against Sang/Zheng). As for Korea, the 3 events have an obvious context which makes them irrelevant to the Sudirman Cup: they don't have a prayer in women's singles or women's doubles against the top Chinese. Na Kyung-min and Yi Kyung-won did but with Na retired, I don't think Yi Hyo-jung can fill her shoes. I mean they did take World No 1 Yang/Zhang to 3 games in Singapore but they lost the last game 15-1(as they lost both games in the China Open in the same matchup) and I think that is what to expect unless the Sudirman Cup were played in Korea or something.
It is bound to be stiff competition among China, Denmark, Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia but China is still undeniably the strongest contender for Sudirman judging from its superiority in WS and WD besides having a balanced strength in MS, MD and XD.
Candra/Sigit should have wrapped it all up in the second set. They were leading something like 13-6, but somehow they made errors after errors at that point. This reminds me of the match between Jens/Martin and Choong/Lee, where Lee Wan Wah just gave up after being penalised for not being ready to receive serve. In yesterday's match, Jens also served a few times when the opponent was not ready, and the serves were ordered retaken. There was a huge psychological battle going on, and I hope it is not becoming a staple of international badminton, because frankly, it can be ugly. Frankly speaking, I think the better pair lost yesterday. Maybe Taufik was right in not coming. The line judges gave a few grossly incorrect calls in favour of the Korean players. The opponents (Jens/Mette and Wang Chen) were disgusted in a few occassions. Jens, of course, protested vehemently. I think Jun Jae Youn and Lee/Lee were very good yesterday and deserved the titles on their own right without "help" by the line judges. Lee Jae Jin/Lee Hyo Jung, who also knocked out Nova/Lilyana, are a pair to watch for.
The current Chinese team is the most wholesome among all teams. They are almost virtually assured of two points from WS and WD. In effect, you have to take all 3 points of the other ties. Do you fancy beating all of Lin Dan, Fu/Cai and Zhang/Gao? Even if one of the two "sure" points faltered unexpectedly, I would not fancy any countries' chances. In fact, the best bet would be Indonesia. They currently have very weak ladies, but coming up against China, it does not matter whether you are weak or strong. OTOH, Taufik, Indon men's doubles and Nova/Lilyana could possibly secure 3 points against China although I still don't like the odds. Funnily enough, because of their weak ladies, Indonesia may find it against all other teams as well. Denmark is the only other team that can conceivably defeat China. Peter Gade and Jens/Martin could get 2 points, and Jens/Mette may rise to the occassion to defeat Zhang/Gao. But what are the odds of all 3 succeeding?
jens/martin or rassmussen/paaske? also didnt korea 1st WD win again the chinese 1st WD in the UC2004... oh well, as long as the chinese team play without too much pressure on them, it should be ok *he says hopefully*
i wonder why do u all doubting china's chance to win, sure , their md and xd are not as dominating as the other 3, but cai/fu seem to show good performances, so do zhang/gao im more concerned with indonesia, with moody taufik who only shines when he wants to, and only 2 other categories that seem reliable, but what if one of them failed? we're dead
Though Denmark players had great performance in recent opens, I worry about how much longer he can stay among the top badminton countries. Most of his top players are in their thirties and few promising young players have emerged compared with other countries.
Yes, Korea did take a WD win over China but that was with Na Kyung-min. She has since retired. Don't be fooled by her no. 5 ranking. She hasn't played internationally since the Olympics. That makes a huge difference. The Yi Kyung-won/Yi Hyo-jung partnership isn't bad but it's nothing like the former Yi/Na partnership. Nor is Yi Hyo-jung/Yi Jae-jin anywhere near the sure win that Kim/Na used to be. The big stumbling block for Korea in the Sudirman could be men's singles unless Son Seung-mo convalesces quickly after his operation and returns to form. Yi Hyun-il claimed that his month in the army put him off his game but let's face it: he hasn't been on his game for quite a while now. He had a rash of good showings in 2003 but he hasn't been in a semi-final since the Taipei Open 2003. Still, if all it takes is 3 doubles wins, Korea could take down China. Checking again, I find that Yi Hyo-jung has beaten at least 3 of the top Chinese pairs with both Yi Kyung-won and even with Hwang Yu-mi. In light of this, they are certainly a better bet for a women's doubles upset than Denmark or any other Sudirman contender.
Really, what can the umpires do about psychological tricks (except for those that infringe the rules)? Pumping fists and glaring at opponents after a rally victory, refusing to change shuttlecocks, always wanting to change shuttlecocks, taking a bit more time to receive service. Sometimes, the pure form of badminton takes a backseat. Worse, it becomes ugly like the Hewitt case. If only every player is like Roger Federer.
