@OneToughBirdie ....one rally only for you from the Olympic Military training. Bet, we didn't see this against Sony Dwi Kuncoro P.S : Do watch it selecting HD option.
What ? Xue Song ! At first I thought it was Wang Zhengming. Very heartening to see Xue Song back from his injury and playing like that. I very much look forward to seeing XS play after Rio'16.
Lin Dan seeded first in Beijing 2008, his first Gold medal. Lin Dan seeded second in London 2012, his second Gold medal. Lin Dan seeded third in Rio 2016, his third Gold medal?
Lin dan seems to be getting back into very good shape! nice!! Source: Lin Dan fans communication area, facebook page.
I don't think so. Generally it is those who are selected for Rio against the sparring partners. They don't want the ones selected to destroy each other
Lin Dan no longer an obstacle in Chong Wei’s quest for Olympic gold http://www.themalaymailonline.com/s...obstacle-in-chong-weis-quest-for-olympic-gold KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — World badminton icon, Lin Dan is no longer an obstacle in national ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s quest for his first gold medal at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The confidence was expressed by Badminton of Malaysia (BAM) deputy president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria after Chong Wei succeeded in beating his nemesis at the China Open and Asia Badminton, both in China, this year. Norza said the world’s number one player on the other hand should be more careful of much younger players such as Viktor Axelsen and Jan O Jorgensen. “For me, Chong Wei needs to boost his mental and physical preparedness more to face off against these new faces. Lin Dan is no longer a huge challenge for Chong Wei. “His chance of reaping the gold medal is rather high if compared to the Beijing and London Olympic Games,” he said when contacted by Bernama, here, today. Commenting on Chong Wei’s preparation, Norza said, in terms of fitness and mental condition, he believed the 33-year-old player was ready since returning to action after his doping issue, last year. For the record, Chong Wei took one year to return to the highest ranking in the world when in June last year he started at the 180th ranking. Chong Wei, emerged runner-up in two previous Olympic Games, and second seed is twice world champion Chen Long while two-time Olympics champion, Lin Dan is placed as third seed. Other seeds in the men’s singles event are Danish player Viktor Axelsen (4) and Jan Jorgensen (5), Chinese Taipei player Tien Chen (6), Indonesian player Tommy Sugiarto (7), South Korean player Son Wan Ho (8), Indian player Kidambi Srikanth (9), Kong Kong player Hu Yun (10), German player Marc Zwiebler (12) and England player Rajiv Ouseph (13). The first balloting of the badminton event at the Rio Olympic Games would be officially held on Tuesday. — Bernama
Thanks for sharing it, Volcom. Wow ! Such Insult of Lin Dan is the first time I have witnessed since I joined BC.
I see it as mind games, Datuk Norza is trying to boost LCW's confidence but whether he can carry it through at the Olympics itself, his last and final chance, is another question, remains to be seen. It'll have absolutely no effect on Super Dan, nobody can stop him except himself.
Pro baddy players today are not the players of yesteryears like Tan Aik Huang, Rudy and going further to Wong Peng Soon era who played for glory, trophy, tiada duit (no money lah) and still had real day job. When $$$ was first awarded to pro players about 2 decades ago, Zhao Jin Hua winning a major at that time received a huge cardboard cheque worth USD3000 (that was big deal back then) and no sideline income. When ZJH retired, he went to sell chicken rice. Today winning a SS or SSP, the purse is at most USD50,000, but the real reward comes from endorsement, bonuses and rewards from government. If LCW wins gold, government reward is RM1M plus many millions more from endorsement, lifetime pension bonuses, etc. It is all about money first, everything else comes second and rightfully so. RIO is what LD and LCW chasing for. Li Na won 2 tennis majors reaped tens of millions USD annually even though she has retired, LD will make far more. If LD wins his 3rd gold, LD will be a marketer dream project, LD endorsement value goes through the roof in a country with the 2nd biggest economy in the world and where all major companies are looking to market their products there, looking for a star to represent their products. Chinese sport stars, name one who has won 3 OLY golds??? NONE Folks here argue about LD losing to everyone from Christie to Sony to you name it, but as I said, the target is all about RIO. When OLY comes, and there are only 5 matches to play to win the gold, we will see the real LD play in every of the 5 matches. The fun starts at SF if all 4 top seeds goes through. That is why, I bet on LD to win the gold....simply a gut feeling.
Talking about insults and disrespectful statements, check this one out: Everybody keeps repeating the same phrase. "Come the Olympics, it's only five matches." So what? It's not only five matches for LD, but for everybody else. They will all be there and playing for the Gold medal. Lee Chong Wei, Chen Long, Viktor Axelsen, Tommy Sugiarto, Jan O Jorgensen and many more. Remember the WC15, where LD lost to JOJ in the QF. The same talk just before said tournament.
You certainly give new meaning to the word 'insult'. Funny you single out my statement as if you can't think of anything more deserving. As OneToughBirdie has repeatedly emphasized ,Lin Dan's only goal is the Olympic gold, a three-peat, not another WC after his 5th at 2013. Well, whatever, we'll have the answer in a few weeks. Frankly, I have more faith in Lin Dan, then Chen Long , than LCW as the last-named, knowing it's his last and final chance, may stumble or crumble under pressure once again. In other words, if it's not the Olympics, say SSP or even the WC, then I might place LCW first in line for once, purely based on recent form. In terms of skills and experience, there's actually not much to choose from among the Super Trio (possibly Chen Long a little less than the other two but he has the advantage of youth and physicality to make up for it) whom until now I believe are still in a league of their own. The rest, imho, could at most be a dark horse(s) , dangerous and not to be taken lightly, yes, spoiler, maybe, but for any of them to deny all three or any two of the Big Trio is a near-impossible proposition, depending on their luck of the draw. I'd imagine the worst draw for them is to be slated to meet all three Big Guns in succession, when any two is already bad enough, more than they could handle. Btw, would you regard anyone who picked Lin Dan alone as the hot favourite to take gold at Rio as insulting the rest of the pack? For example, Peter Gade ?
What's even funnier is that you didn't even attempt to defend or explain your statement, because basically what you're saying is, that nothing stands in LD's way to the gold medal except himself. No worthy opponents whatsoever? How can you be so 100% sure that he will win if he wants to?
LD losing in last year WC is also because it was played in Indonesia. He always loses in SEA in individual tournaments. The playing conditions in that part of the world does not suit LD. If Rio condition is similar to SEA he can have a hard time winning.
It's not for me to explain, it's none other than Lin Dan's own stellar reputation and unmatched proven track records that speak for themselves. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one nor is it the first time anybody made such a remark as I did. Someone once said , Lin Dan is not one to be beaten, and there are/were several other similar claims made before about the GOAT, for sure. If you think LCW at age 33 now is still the (or one of the) favourite(s), I don't see why not Lin Dan, his recent form notwithstanding; otherwise, why else would Peter Gade and some other legends, such as Yang Yang, Zhao Jianhua, Sun Jun, Dong Jiong, Wong Choon Han, etc, still without hesitation count Lin Dan as the one or two top picks ahead of the younger upstarts. That's just my opinion, my 2 cents.
