The way I see it, LZJ's game is not much different from VA, and what happened in the past is an indication but no guarantee of what might happen in future. I mean, just look at what occurred to VA at Loh Kean Yew's hands, first in the 2021 world championship and last week's Denmark Open, not to mention a couple others who've beaten VA not long ago, such as Lakshya Sen, Lee Zii Jia. In my opinion, SYQ at his best can give VA a run for his money. The question is whether or when he is on top of his game. I'm reminded of how SYQ bested peak Momota in the 2021 Sudirman Cup, for example. And just last week, who would've thought SYQ would emerge champion at the Denmark Open. However, for the reasons I've listed above, I seriously doubt SYQ can do it this time should they meet tomorrow. In my opinion, SYQ's problem is he is his own worst enemy, proverbially. Honestly speaking, till now, I still have no confidence he has overcome his mental weakness, one unexpected tournament success doesn't prove anything. A good start nevertheless but , well, let's see how it goes from here.
I suspect SYQ wanted to win the R1 match with minimum effort but after dropping G1 and unable to get into the lead mid-way through the 2nd half of G2, realized it'd take a lot of energy-sapping stepup to win in three sets and risk not only certain defeat but a humiliating rout to VA next round, decided let the match go lackadaisically, virtually gifting the last few points. I'm sure he's well aware of his physical condition. Still, like I said, he's not completely out of the woods yet as far as his mentality issue is concerned. Personally, I disapproved of his negative attitude but I guess Sun Jun knows best SYQ's delicate situation and, with patience and understanding, probably allow his mentee to decide matters at his own comfortable pace. By the way, if what SYQ did merits criticism, how's that much different from VA's habit of suddenly pulling out of the following week's tournament at the eleventh hour on flimsy grounds? To each his own?
I was rather looking forward to that matchup, SYQ vs VA, win or lose doesn't matter, just fight it out as a test to see how far he's regain his form and in the process get to know VA's game better. I mean, the French Open is not such an important tournament, not much is at stake, so strategically, I see no need for SYQ to avoid playing him. On the contrary, I feel it's imperative for SYQ to play as many top-tier tournaments and face intense competition repeatedly in the shortest time possible, because it's not so much how good you are in training but how you really fare in international competition that counts as that is the real you. In other words, I'd like to see him get back into top form as quickly as possible. As it is, he's already wasted more than a year - his 10-month ban and the dearth of tournaments during the pandemic in the early years - and there's indeed much work to be done for CHN MS is in a shaky, even precarious, situation without any reliable top 10 players for quite some time, particularly urgent for team championships.
He’s drawn against Loh Kean Yew in the Hylo Open. Losing does give him a week to work on parts of his game that he and the coaches have discussed. I don’t think he can get back ‘as quickly as possible’. Doing that is a recipe for injury. He might have already reached his ranking points target for the current trip.
Tossing criticisms away (because theses guys do not care about that), I think what VA does is better than traveling to an event just for losing a match. If SYQ knew he wasn't in condition for France, why bother showing up? We often talk about his weak mental, and losing a match is never good, even if he knew he was not at 100%.
People will find another reasons to flaming him again if he not showing up. There's a lot players showing up at the match and retired after 1 or 2 point too but i guess some people just can't or maybe don't want to move on and keep nitpicking even little tiny thing.
va has complete control over his own choices & schedule. syq does not. va is independent. syq is an employee.
Which probably also [at least partially] explains his mental weakness. He might not be 100% happy about not having full control of his career. We come back again to this issue regarding the associations having too much control/power over athletes/individuals and how it hinders the full potential of the sport.
Was there ever an independent player from China? Not sure if syq has ever thought he could have control like axelson does.
Badminton is a relatively poor sport in which few can gain independence, financially or professionally. Most players require support from their associations and governments to various degree. If you don't like it, put up some real coins to help them out. SYQ does not have super star talent but was thrust into the role of LD and CL. He endured the kind of pressure that few others face. It is not fair to criticize him for so called fragile mentality. On that aspect, he is not on the very top shelf but is among the top players today. Indeed, he was pushed to the point of mental breakdown. CBA punished him rather heavy handedly, and pulled him back in desperation to fill the void. Somewhat unexpectedly, the forced time-off did wonders for him. For better or worse, that sordid chapter is now behind them. SYQ is back, but still has someway to go before firmly set foot in the top echelon. First round exit at the French Open is no big deal. He should probably have withdrawn in the first place, if not for the pandemic disrupted schedule. It's more than a coincidence that the other finalist from last week also exited in the first round.
i think CBA had expected LGZ and ZJP to be able to replace him when they punished SYQ and they soon realized they desperately needed him back, hence his early return. Really hope, they dun pressure him too much again, it looks like Sun Jun is the perfect coach/mentor for him. I don’t think the early exit here should be a consideration at all, as almost all other winners/finalist of DO are struggling here as well. Hylo Open should be used instead if we wanna see how far he has come or not.
Badminton is extremely hard on the body, especially for the top players who progress deep into tournaments and fight long, hard struggles against the best players. Denmark Open was very tough... to repeat the whole process again well and safely after 2-3 days!!!
bwf bylaws give the associations the power, and bwf refuses to change the rule. any player, or group of players, needs to sue bwf in the Court of Arbitration for Sport to get it abolished. on a legal basis the rule is indefensible. even if independence was allowed the two main ?'s remain: 1) does he (as you've stated) actually want to be independent?, and 2) could he afford to be independent?
the current bwf rule that gives the associations control actually suppresses the growth of badminton, and gives bwf more control over the sport. 1) bwf has sole control over the number of tournaments, level of tournaments and amount of prize money on offer. 2) bwf has given athletes no choice but to join an association in order to play in those tournaments and attain ranking points. 3) without an avenue to attain ranking points you have no ability to make a living. does that sound like a dictatorship/monopoly to you? all of this would be legal if players had the power to collectively bargain as a participating stakeholder (union), like other professional sport athlete unions. so if you want to throw money at the elephant throw it towards getting the rule abolished in court. bwf is never going to suddenly do the right thing out of the kindness of their... oh wait... silly me... they don't have a heart.
Perhaps it's important for SYQ case to upgrade his WR. Crystal clear, he's the most potential CHN MS player to compete with current elites, let alone Zhao, Lu who has very slow progress and inconsistent.
