28 years of age should not be the deciding factor when it comes to basic stamina. It's only a matter of how much work you put into building and maintaining it. I agree that TTY currently is not at the same stamina level that she has been before Covid hit and this clearly showed in game 3 against CYF. The whole match had a weird dynamic somehow. The first game and a half was one of the best performances from TTY in a while. She seemed to be in control, was faster, hit more precisely and managed to get the shuttle to the ground. Crowned by that incredible backhand cross court smash winner mid of game 2. She then missed that 100% net winner right afterwards and for some reason, CYF slowly but steadily gained the upper hand. CYF to me is an opponent right from hell. Superb retrieval capabilities, great stamina, no easy mistakes and endless patience to wait for chances to open up. She doesn't kill with big guns blazing, but with a million needle stitches. You have to be in a top shape mentally and physically to not get frustrated and to keep pushing against it until the very end of a match. AY then a day later showed perfectly how it should be done. 100% agree to this of course. Although I'm kind of starting to make my peace with her leaving professional badminton at some point without a WC/OG title in the records. There is just always something in the way it seems. And the more desperate you are pushing for somehing, the less likely it will be to happen.
The impact of age 28 for women athletes is different than for men, esp for an extreme sport like badminton. In badminton history, how many women's singles at 28 and after were still on top of their game and still ranked in the top 5 or 10 as compared with the men's singles? For child prodigies who started their international career at a relatively younger age than the typical or normal athletes, 28 is considered past their used-by-date, so to speak. Well, Zhang Ning is a very special case, the exception that proves the rule, twice Olympic gold medalist at age 28 and then 32. Not completely ruling out TTY but there's no denying it's getting harder and harder as the years go by, if not near impossible.
I am not sure if she is still as passionate as before. If the Olympic gold is her target, she would need to tweak her game to face the current opponents. As from what I see, she is still a top player and if the desire is still with her, she is still able to beat any opponent currently in the top 5.
Yea, she kept on giving the vibe of "I could retire anytime". Luckily she still consistently reach semi or final in tournaments. Otherwise, I don't know how sponsors would hear that and decide to continue their support for her.
Hopefully Sindhu will get opposite half draw of TTY. PVS always struggles with TTY (now + ASY) except PVS's victory overy TTY-2016Rio Oly(with thundering smashes). In 2020Tokoyo Oly both met in Semi's but different half means would have different medal winners
Once again, TTY fails to win the WC this year. Her best chance at a major title win will be the OG next year. But with rising players like An Se Young, I don't know if TTY will be able to win the OG next year. TTY will need a lot of luck to win the OG next year, like a very nice bracket, and relying on other players to upset opponents who can beat her, so that she gets an easier path to the finals. If TTY never plays in a WC again, the irony is, her best chance at winning the WC was the very year she skipped the WC to play at the Universaide in Taiwan.
For the Olympics, wasn’t she was wearing all the wrong gear? She’s going to be the best women’s singles player never to have won a WC.
I hope TTY really prepare for the next olympic games. It could be her swan song, a fitting end of her illustrious career. currently she could still be top 4/5 but I dont see her beating ASY, CYF and AY anymore.
No, that was in 2017, where she was in a tussle with the Taiwan badminton association (CTBA) and it's sponsor, Yonex. Taiwan BA stated that all team tournaments need to wear Yonex sponsored kit except for rackets. Back then she, to me, like it or not, bitched like a diva about how Yonex only gave out kits 5 days before departure to the event and had no time to ask or exchange for another size of attire and shoes. Shoes were provided in only one size, and her attire was too big. Being Victor sponsored, she inadvertently triggered the sponsor PR war by hinting in interviews and statements that her "personal sponsor" were more accommodating and understanding than the high handed association *hint hint*. She was being very, very enigmatic in her statements and interviews, and portrayed herself the victim in this fiasco. David vs Goliath. Her vs the association. Public eye of course, favored the player. Because boohoohoo, back then TTY was Taiwan's best, and practically their only shot at medaling in any event. So Yonex got dragged into the war with Victor. Sponsors both got into the pool not by their choice, but by player and association contracts. So the public consensus was "Oh Yonex triggered underhand methods to screw non Yonex contract players, and TW's WS1 is their biggest victim". Nice. By now you can tell how I disliked TTY's method of manhandling and steering the situation, becoming a marketing campaign for Victor. After the whole fiasco, she got what she wanted, the same way LCW appeared on court when BAM was with Victor. Rackets and shoes being personal sponsor, attire to be association provided for team events. Main thing was her shoes back then, she uses 2 different sizes for her foot, so requiring 2 pairs to form up one pair of her battle boots, and the preference of the attire to be baggy/bigger sized, and more importantly, SLEEVELESS. This is a custom manufacture as not every seasonal kit offers sleeveless version. This is a huge stretch since she's not under Yonex, and you demand a competing brand to make something only for you. Hmmm. Yeah. Seems legit. https://www.badmintonplanet.com/bad...uck-in-a-battle-between-yonex-and-victor.html This is the English speaking remaining article. The rest are in Mandarin, and by now, not sure if they're already gone. She later sparked another shitshow during 2021, with how players sat economy while the association management sat business class for the flight to and from Tokyo. I personally dislike the way she starts every narrative as the small victim by a big bully, but I guess mainstream crowds buy into that **** so there's that. To me, she didn't get personally targeted here and before, but acts and behaves as if she was. That's what grinds my gears about her. And the worst part is, she couldn't deliver back the gold to shut everyone up, instead choking and coming back with silver and hiding behind Wang and Lee upon returning to Taiwan. Which makes me feel like, she can't end what she started. I would be so behind her if she actually cashed out the gold since she was being regarded as Taiwan's chance to get a gold for the OG. Wang and Lee never was forecasted for even anything, not even bronze. About this... she's basically Taiwan's LCW. Seeing her choke at Tokyo's 2021 final and how she struggled over the line in the semis was a foreshadowing at her ending of the silver medal. In her peak, I typically regard her as having no opponents. When she loses a game, she lost only to herself. It feels like she self destructs via poor shot quality and loses the game because her form is not the best that day. A shame her form is always in a rollercoaster with many crests and troughs. In a sparse(er) superseries calendar like pre HSBC world tour, she can hardly keep the golds coming, much less now where every week there is something to win. I do wish she can bow out with a gold in Paris as with every player in their twilight, but with the current situation it seems unlikely. Also, if anyone remembers her statement saying she will hang up her racket at 27 years old after OG, we're now at 29 and next year she's 30. To me, that is another thing she started and can't finish or cash out. I'd rather she not even have said that at all. Give herself a pedestal, she keeps burning whatever is behind her with not that much to show.
She is not improving as of now. Still cracks up vs asy. Olympic like scenario. Yama now is injured. Left asy, marin, cyf and tty as contenders for OG.
Not sure if this is widely known already, but apparently I’ve missed the news: https://focustaiwan.tw/sports/202304090005#:~:text=Kaohsiung, April 9 (CNA),the end of next year.
Yup she mentioned several times since last year or even earlier. Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk
Ah okay. Tells you that I haven't really been following the pro tour over the past year or so. On the other hand, I don't think it has surprised anyone really since she has been floating the idea of retirement since before Tokyo so... I guess we were lucky to get these bonus years.
