Well, if that is what he has to live up to, maybe he doesn't do that, but for sure he gets at least 3-4 titles, probably a title at a major event (Maybe not worlds, but I hold him as favourite for Jakarta Asian Games)
And man, you got to keep in mind LD from 2006-2009 didn't have to deal with prime LCW (LCW's prime began in 2010, he was way better from 2010 onwards than he was beforehand, it was such a big shift), when prime LCW came around, LD had a much harder time dominating the overall calendar, it probably forced his move to start focusing on majors post 2009 And also, does that mean LCW has never dominated the calendar, because he never won worlds or olympics. I see LCW as the definition of dominating the calendar, if LCW has never dominated the calendar, no one has. Didn't CL dominate the calendar in 2015 (5 Superseries, All England, Worlds) then? Does that mean he didn't dominate in 2014 though (Lost in All England final, 4 supersedes titles, 5 SS finals and the World title). Your definition for dominating the calendar is hella flawed man.
Yes, He was far superior to Axelsen. Him being Left handed already gives him an advantage over Viktor in that aspect.
LD didn't choose to focus on majors post 2009 because of LCW. It was just a natural change of priority that came with having won (virtually) everything.
LD from Mid 2010 to 2012 London Olympics had a superior jump smash as a standalone shot than Prime Taufik.
Do not get me wrong on this, LD is the greatest player ever, but he was never the best at everything, in fact, he wasn't the best at most things(Technical skills, physicality, footwork). He had everything to a very high, fundamentally sound level, and then his mental strength and hunger did the rest (Refer to earlier posts about players having better technical and physical skills than him) We have had many technically skilled players who are better than LD in that regard, I have given numerous examples, but he makes up for it through mental strength. CL and LCW were fitter and had better footwork than LD, but LD overcame all these deficiencies to his opponents through superior mental fortitude, I don't see why we can't agree on this
Being a lefty has jack-"BLEEP" to do with being a great player man, it is what is inside the player that counts, and LD is a ruthless killer on court, filled with champion's pride, that is why he is the GOAT
Prime Taufik had insane smash power, I would advise you to watch some videos of him, check out his world record smash in 2006, that is yet to be equaled
Maybe that is the case, but I think it also came about because of LCW, because he would have to work a lot harder to win the same tournaments, so he decided to save energy. Also, he was playing a hella physically demanding playstyle from 2006-2009 when he was dominating. It is very hard to maintain that sort of play style for long, so he had to evolve, and chose where to spend his energies. I would say he got even better, with 2011-2012 LD being the most complete version of him.
I think we were talking about angles here. Nothing else. If you keep jumping from Subject of the debate, I will be forced to move on to greater things.
LD fired a 301 km/h smash in the same tournament that Taufik fired his record-breaking 305 km/h. Pretty close.
2011-12 LD was an all-rounder, so you're correct in saying that's the most complete version of him. Level-wise though, 2009 LD is unparalleled.
If you want to talk angles, Axelsen and Srikanth have far superior angles than LD ever had, being a lefty has nothing to do with it, it is all about your skills. And frankly, if you want to move on to "Greater things", be my guest, I'm not stopping you (Im not asking you to go either, but if you want to leave, leave)
Truth, that dude was pretty monstrous in 2009, I mean he was fooling around with LCW in the All England Final, killing him, same with his opponents at the Worlds, he was just trampling them all over
At that level, the differences are so minuscule, but i think we can all agree Taufik was more powerful than LD (Keeping in mind the differences are SO small) It only proves what I have been saying, there have been players with better power, better skills, better footwork (Actually Taufik is better than LD at all of these), but he comes out on top more often than not because of fighting spirit, that champions pride, that je-ne-sais-quoi, and the tis why he is the GOAT, let's just agree on that and move on to better things
