Exactly, Lin Dan has the aura of invincibility, the supreme self-confidence, the inner belief, the willpower and determination, and the heart that translate into an all-conquering spirit and winning ways - "Veni, vidi, vici."
Lin Dan losing in the first round of two consecutive tournaments is disappointing for any badminton-fan. His current world ranking has dropped to nr 4. He only has 10 tournaments towards that ranking so he will lose points for his QF finish in Japan open and also from his win in Chinese Taipei open. So if he does not play anymore before the WC he will lose about 12000 ranking points. Then he will be the third ranked Chinese player after WZM. If so he might end up in the same half of the WC draw as Chen Long with a 50-50 possibility of LCW also being in the same half of the draw. Having the three best players in the same half of the draw is not good for the sport. Did LYB not think about this?
Isnt there a maximum of 2 or 3 players/pairs per nation? And afaik, the National federations pick who they send indepentant of ranking (as long as the player/pair in question qualifies). Also, I was not aware of any Nationality separation in the WC...
There is no such a thing as nationality separation, in WC or other tournament. The seeds n.3 and 4 are placed in upper and lower halves of the draw (upper or lower are decided randomly, but they are in different part.) It is very possible to have LD, CL and LCW in the same half. The only way to avoid this is for 1)LD to be at seed n.2 or 2) CL to drop to seed n.3
Difference being that LCW had no choice in the matter LD appears a bit lethargic as of late, maybe a dip in form, maybe saving himself for bigger tournaments...but he certainly didnt play like the LD we're used to against Axelsen
