..hehehe, well, sure, you(or anyone else) can jump right in also, next time, in helping out w/the translation..Sorry, I was just noting, off the top of my head, the people who've attempted translating "longer" articles..hehe
I've grown used to Taufik not "aiming" to win tournaments now >_>. I don't really mind that much if he loses, I just want to see him play his best. If he does win on the other hand... what will he say considering he wasn't "aiming" to ?
I'm quite torn over how Taufik will fare. I was a huge fan until the HKO pull out incident. That really irked me. Now I just feel sorry for him. Hard to see such a talent struggling to perform to his (and our) accustomed level. If he does well, I'll be happy for him, just as long as his apologists don't spoil it for everyone else. If he doesn't, could this really spell the end for Taufik? Really, he's got not much else to play for and it would take total rededication to elevate himself back to those heady levels.
Off topic-He's missing just 1 more "prestigious" title & time to wrap it up.. ..i hope not much "rededication", with only the AE as his other(only) missing "prestigious" title left. ..Just 1 more, I mean it's not like he hasn't gotten the WC, Olympics or AG title(s) yet..
AE not as prestigious anymore AE is no big deal anymore. It used to be prestigious but recent times has seen some smelly umpiring and service judging esp. when matches are between Asian and European players. That s how prestige gets eroded
it's really hard to see such talent wasted... if only he'll give me his talent before he retire.lol he's only 25 and i think, given the right physical condition, he'll be able to duplicate his achievements... i'm doubting that he's making excuses... we watched JO, my coach told me that taufik didn't give up the match.. he told me that taufik was feeling something that he didn't want to use as alibi for the defeat... after hearing that TH doesn't aim to defend his AG title, i thought that maybe taufik knew that he wouldn't be in his top form (physically) for the upcoming AG... it's really weird he said that "indonesians shouldn't expect only him to win every tournament because there are other INA players as well" it gives me a hint that may be he's going to retire soon..:crying: i hope not, there are still many tournaments to win...
Off topic-Hmm..not as "prestigious" according to whom??.. ..if that's the case, where do we draw the line, when did it begin/what yr, that AE is no longer as prestigious as the old AEs?? does that mean this yr's AE is actually not as prestigious as the previous ones?? How about last yr's?? Or in that case, how about the upcoming AE in future yrs?? And if it's not as prestigious as before, why did Taufik still mentioned about him pursuing the AE after the WC last yr??..Was his talk "full of hot air"??..
C'mon let's get real here. Bias umpiring and line judging are rife in the Asian tournaments too, blatantly in some cases. So the Euros get somewhat of a raw deal when they play there. Do they pull out because of that? Of course not. The point is that there'll always be some sway in umpiring and line judging towards Asians in Asia and Euros in Europe. That hasn't stopped LD from winning this year's AE. A player should be big enough to overcome these obstacles if he is to be crowned champion. AE is still a BIG tournament, a major if you will. If Taufik, as you put, considers it not a big deal anymore because of said reason, I think it's just adding another excuse to his already growing list. Sad really, because it's others that are making them for him
AE not gold standard anymore? I'm comparing AE now vs the old days, not vs other tournaments. AE used to be the Gold standard, isn't it? That means in the old days, the umpiring, service and line judging were of impeccable standard; that's a key reason why it's respected. Or has it always been selectively shoddy with some matches all along? Please enlighten cos I've only come into badminton about 5 years back so I have no sentiments for AE like old timers. I'm looking at AE objectively and trying to understand why ppl rave about it in spite of surprisingly questionable umpiring and service judging standards.
Taufik Hidayat to meet Nguyen Hoang Hai in the first round and to meet Korean Park Sung Hwan in the second round. Taufik to meet Bao Chun Lai or Ronald Susilo in the last eight. Lee Chong Wei will be ready in the semifinal to meet the winner between Taufik or Bao.
load of crap talk from my book, just more excuses for taufik from die hard TH fans. Are u saying AE winners of say.. from the past 5 years were undeserving? Of course there are no perfect umpiring and line judging in any badminton tournaments but AE is no worst than others. Maybe i know why TH hasn't win in AE, it's because so far none of the AE draws had worked in his favor. Let me remind u that TH won athen gold in 2004 without facing one chinese player. Hardest match was against peter gade. Boonsak and shon are not even in the top five back then nor presently.
...one could think you don't like taufik. He was also world champion beating lin dan of china in the final.
To peel a TH if u read my previous post somewhere in bf, i have documented evidence to explain LD lost to TH in 05 WC. I saw that match live streaming and had first count observation from my frens who was at anahiem too. It wasnt that TH won with skill but rather LD lost because of nervousness, just like at athen olympic. TH presence on court was enough to defeat his opponents after his olympic gold status. The 06 HKO & JO prove that LD overcame his nervousness in big tournaments, and overcame his 'ghost like' fear of TH. The table had turned, it is now TH who is scare and trying to avoid facing LD. For me, TH off court deception is wearing off. To beat TH, just like giving a public speech, u have to see your counterparts wearing nothing but underwear and dont let unjustified emotional fear to defeat u before u even begin
This thread is going severely off topic, but IMO AE is Less Biased than Other Major tournaments, since the umpires are (very broadly) the same as in other tournaments, but the Linesmen/Women have less bias as they do not have many of there own country men/women to support/help during the later stages. JO, KO, CO, MO & DO will are all likely to have their own COuntry folk in the Quarter final at least. English players are Forunate to reach this stage (even in Doubles).
thanks for the reminder jamesd20. trueblue, i dun dislike TH, i just want to separate TH's myth from facts I could be totally wrong about TH but he has to win at doha and next year AE to convince me
Off topic-I was there too.. ..hehe, believe it or not, and watched it live with some other BC members.. ...Actually, IMHO, LD lost to TH in last yr's WC was more because he ran out of energy(after that energy-sapper in the SF). Sure the "nervousness" factor was there, but as i was watching it live, he made an attempt in the 2nd set, but just couldn't get that 2nd wind. His facial and body demeanors & energy just weren't there..As for the 2004 Athens Olympics, yah, i would tend to agree, LD probably was "shocked" from simply having a youthful exuberance(he was what, 19 or 20 yrs old @ the time, just like Taufik was 4 yrs earlier)..
cooler, it is part of the game! if you excused LD's lost because of exhaustion or nervousness, surely, TH fans will be making the same excuse as you did...injuries, not 100% condition, etc... as a player, you can't really blame exhaustio n or being not in condition.. because as a player, your job is to always be in good condition... it's part of how good a player is.. LD's loss to TH in 2005 was because he got intimidated by TH then.. again, it's nobody but LD's fault... shall we now move on?? it's already done, and LD's now the #1 player...
