I won't say he's back in form yet after the dismal run in AE & Swiss Open. The only top player he beat in ABC is Yo-yo king (HH). He's fully capable of beating LHI though, and he has forced LD and LCW to rubbers in the past.
Some of the top Guns of KOREA might pull out from TCUC Finals to concentrate on their preparation for OG 08.. Probably Li Mao protege LHI or even PSH.. not sure yet.. need to wait for final confirmation on nomination day to submit their full team
They might pull out the MS but leaving their MD in? That doesn't make any sense at all since LDY/JJS is their best chance for Olympic Gold.... If they want to concentrate on OG, might as well pull out their MD as well from TC since they won't have a chance of winning it.
It's still a plan.. ..i think the KOR coaches know what their MD pairs are capable of..I think they want to give more preparation to their MS players...Although, in a way, it doesn't make much sense either to pull back some of the Thomas Cup players but let the Uber Cup members compete. Plus, there are still a few months left and a couple or so more SS tourneys for them to participate in.. *samuel882(Sam), just curious, from which source(s) did you get this info from??..
KOREAN MD is strong enough. Based on their current form, even though they did not participate in TC Finals, ALL the other team will be focus to work on the strategy on how to beat them for GOLD in Beijing... Li Mao already stated before that he wont accompany Korean team for TC Finals. So, the possibly is there that his protege will skip this tournament. For KOREAN, their main aim is always to be wining at OG, TC will not be their target this year. Don't be surprise to see several Korean players who have already qualify for OG will be omitted for upcoming SS events too The source is from Chinapress.com I don't have the time to translate it, thats why i did not put the link here
So.. ..it makes some sense, then, for the coaches to pull out some of their MS players. But then how about the KOR ladies??..Jun JaeYoun?? Hwang HyeYoun??..Are the coaches not giving them some consideration for the Olympic Games??..I think one madbad will be quite upset with this unfair treatment of the KOR WS ladies...hmm..
Let's the MIND GAME begin... I think the Korean is playing 'mind game',as usual to make their opponent 'confuse'. The Korean have started the 'winning wave' since the begining of the year,from LHI,the MD- LYD-JJS,HJM-LJJ&now the most recent ABC MS champion PSH.They are not the 'dark horse' anymore as used to be but the TC contender.I would rate their chances in the TC even higher than MAS & DEN.Based on the current superb performance and having such a solid team,i don't think the Korean will not sending their best players to Jakarta.
I think this TC is a good event for KOR to test the mental strength of their players! It might be a big waste if they just choose the OG...
According to one of the Korean officials (who declined to be named) during ABC, they might "purposely" lost to both ENG & MAS in order to avoid meeting with INa in the QF
well, that sorta strategy has been used very often in the TC, and indeed many other tournaments. no one wants to meet one of the favourites, not to mention the host nation.
Host nation... Being the host nation doesn't seem to help if we check history. In 1986, INA is the host, lost to CHN. In 1988 and 1990, location doesn't matter since CHN was clearly above other teams. In 1992, MAS beated two stronger teams CHN and INA. In 1994 -- 2000, location doesn't matter since INA was clearly above other teams. In 2002, CHN is the host nation, lost to MAS. In 2004, INA is the host nation, lost to DEN. In 2006, MAS is the host nation, lost to DEN. The point is, more often than not, the host nation lost to a (somewhat) weaker (definitely not stronger) opponent. The only time the host nation did magic, that is beated stronger opponents, is MAS in 1992. (I guess MAS used up the "host nation magic", they beated two stronger opponents, and that may be why in the following years host nations are not lucky anymore. )
