I was at the stadium today, so perhaps I am better equipped to make predictions today , plus I can make some comments based on what I saw today. MS Peter Gade v Kenneth Jonassen Peter never looked in trouble today. Kenneth was pretty steady, too, coming back from way behind in the first set to romp through. I still think Peter is tops in Denmark. Chen Hong v Bao Chunlai This is actually about 50-50. Chen Hong looks quite impressive today, whereas Bao was gifted by unforced errors from Lee CW. To sum it up, Chen's offensive looks strong and fast, while Bao's defense stood up to LCW's attacks, forcing LCW to go for the lines.
WS Wong Mew Choo v Eriko Hirose Even though I would like Wong to win, somehow I tend to pick her opponents. Good spirited play by Wong against Xu and in the end, she just pipped it. It was pure grit all the way. Rally away. In the end, after countless long rallies, Xu lost to Wong's superior fitness. Eriko could not find her rythm in the first game, but once she did, she never looked in trouble against Yippy. Excellent footwork from the dimunitive player. Wong's main weaponry is superb fitness and retrieval. Pi and Xu may be too unfit to counter against that but I think Eriko can play that kind of game. Zhu Lin v Yao Jie Zhu was so dominant against Hwang Hye Youn today that I hardly noticed her match. It just went past quickly. Also barely watched Yao's match against Petya. From the few glances I saw, Zhu looks in control. Yao had a tough match today.
MD Tony Gunawan/Candra Wijaya v Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae The Koreans looked a bit out of sorts against Clark/Blair. The English were causing multitudes of problems for the Koreans. I can see why they can get into the WC final. But Jung/Lee just had enough quality to pull through. Tony/Candra looked in total control as usual. At the moment, they are firm favourites for the title. Enough said. Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong v Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan Kido/Setiawan had an excellent, tension-filled match today against Erikssen/Lundgaard, winning the rubber game by 30-28. It got quite a reaction from the crowd, about half supporting the Danes, and half the Indons. Koo/Tan was mostly in control of their match against the Malaysian-killers Sakamoto/Ikeda. The Japanese gave quite a good account of themselves (at least I now know why they could have won against Malaysian pairs), but Koo/Tan were just too cool. For the sake of at least some Malaysian participation in the final day, I go for a Koo/Tan win, although I feel this is close to 50-50.
WD Gao Ling/Huang Sui v Hwang Yu Mi/Kim Min Jung These two pairs are of different class. Kumiko Ogura/Reiko Shiota v Gresya Polii/Vita Marissa Did not really notice the Indons' defeat of the Singaporeans Jiang/Li, but from the performance shown by Kumiko/Reiko today, one feels that nobody save Gao/Huang can beat them. The Japanese defeat of the formerly invincible Yang/Zhang was one of the highlights of the day, so much so that even the LCW/BCL match was largely ignored while the WD match was playing out its exciting conclusion. For some reason, the crowd was totally behind the Japanese right from the start, and I think they felt the vibe. The Chinese were in offensive mood but somehow, the Japanese managed to return just about everything. The Japanese were given fewer chances to attack, but those few chances were taken very well. In the end, the deciding factor was the Japanese's defense. When the final point was won, the stadium erupted (oblivious of LCW trailing badly in the first game). Reiko/Kumiko, overwhelmed by the occasion, acknowleged the crowd a number of times and given standing ovation. Even Wong MC and KKK/TBH were not rewarded with such superstar treatment.
Wanna see Kido/Hendra win, but, MAS pair is still too strong & consistent. I watched them at Asian Games, wow, they're so solid! Anyway, Tony/Chandra is still my fave. Yeah, fortunately, for the next few month, Tony will play as Indonesian again.
According to the schedule, the semifinals start at 1 pm. XD Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir v Zheng Bo/Gao Ling This is a hard one to predict, since the Chinese pairing is new and not proven yet. But I feel that Zheng Bo is a better partner for Gao and therefore, be able to upset the proceedings. Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms v Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Britta Andersen Nathan sports a close-cropped head (as is Gade, now that I recall). Emms is as usual in her excellent form. Meanwhile, the Danes did not really defeat Zhang Jun/Zhao TT. It was more like Zhang Jun defeating Zhang Jun/Zhao TT. Even time he made a silly error, he would look at the lights as if blaming it for all his troubles. Zhao TT just looked at him. I am glad they took him away from Gao Ling; he would have pulled her down with him (but poor Zhao TT). The Danes played well, too, but I think the English have too much class and pedigree.
Been told that result of INA WD and Korean is not certain yet....too bad that the results had not been updated...
Unbelievably, the 3 ko's (Kumiko, Reiko, Eriko) are still in the tournament; well worth multiple times the price for the entrance LCW is out while his girlfriend in still in Semi-finalists for WS represent different countries Semi-finalists for WD represent different countries Semi-finalists for XD represent different countries 4 countries are represented by the semi-finalists of MD (including USA) Peter Gade went from being zero to numero uno; doubtful that he could even step onto the court, let alone pull off a win against Eric Pang, he is now (in my books) the favourite for the title
Excellent summary and insight by Hcyong. By being at the stadium watching proceedings, it's makes for more realistic and objective predictions. I'd say he's a little infatuated by the 3 cute Jap girls, hehehehe Looking forward to a post semi-final report
Well, since all 4 courts were playing at the same time, can't give full attention to any one match. Especially when Eriko was playing, I almost ignored the other courts. I was trying to figure out how she could cover the court given her short stature, but I guess she is just fast. I also noticed one other thing. She tends to do a little jump just before her opponent hits the shuttle. Even if she was at the center of her court, with ample time (relatively speaking) to receive the shuttle, she will jump on the spot at the moment just before her opponent connects with the shuttle. With all her running and jumping, she seems to be bouncing and floating around the court.
Ahem, I can see why you were distracted by Eriko . I think that little jump you described is some sort of trigger mechanism. If you look at golfers, they display similar tendencies (not jumping before they hit the ball of course). It's so that they have consistent rhythm with their golf swings. So in eriko's case, it may be a way to get into her comfort zone and approach every point in the same manner. If any of this doesn't make sense, just ignore it
I have to admire a player like Peter Gade for getting on court and then blowing players like Susilo and Chen Yu away that easily, specialy after he has been serious ill and went to a hospital. At the same time I think we have witnessed a more mature BCL who with time will only be better and better. He is a serious contender for the title. the remaining 2 MS players have been in the top 8 a long time but as someone already mentioned CH and KJ are very underrated and people never expect anything from them, still CH problary has the best jump smash at the moment and KJ the best defense and their consistency in tournaments says everything imo. Maybe not a typical world number one but still a legend for playing like they do.
Nice report, and my heart is pumping! Guess my eyes won over my heart this time. Way to go, Reiko and Kumiko!
Nice little recap there...& couple of comments.. ..hcyong, appreciate for providing some "fan-perspective" insights/reviews for us... Re Eriko's "tends to do a little jump just before her opponent hits the shuttle", i think Eriko must've read her opponent quite well. Anticipating with readiness and full concentration on her opponent's next shot... For the Kido/Setiawan vs. KKK/TBH match, i think one advantage the MAS pair will have is "fresher" bodies in comparison to their INA counterpart. And that Tony/Candra pair is running thru their opponents as if this is just another stroll in the park..
Well said, and especially true to CH! Who is at a nothing to lose mode now. It is quite sad seeing him beating many of his Chinese counterparts in the recently but didn’t get selected to play in the Asia Game and knowing that he has a very slim chance to play at Beijing 08. As for KJ, he might reach the final if it is BCL or CH, but PG is just too familiar with his game. Good luck to all 4 of the players that I like.
