But the JPN coach who can't keep his mouth shut is out, LOL! For those who don't remember, he was also the one shouting "line-calls" from the coaches' chair during the WD Olympic Final 2016 -- I think a formal warning + card/removal means he's liable to pay a fine as BWF member... hope that teaches him to keep his mouth during the rally (not allowed to "interfere with/disturb" line judges, players, etc. while shuttle is in play/rally is alive)
I think this THA-CHN WD2 match is a battle of "Who has better natural chemistry as a pair?" since both pairs have not been playing for a long time together. Home court advantage might just gift this match... and the tie to THA.
I was at Kuching, and wasnt it HYQ TJH in Final before this? Was that their last tournament and they never played before that too. They were still so God before losing to Japan pair then.
Checked it out. They were reunited only at BAC this year where they lost to FukuHiro in R2. Their last tournament together was the also BAC of 2017 where they lost also in R2 to Vivian Hoo/Woon Khe Wei
Puttita and Sapsiree on the other hand have been split since SEA Games last August 2017 due to Sapsiree's injury in the WD final (which gifted the gold medal to the WD1 pair) and have only played the continental team championships together this year previously IIRC.
I think Huang Yaqiong with Zheng Yu might be a good combination for the element of surprise and novelty effect as their opponents won't know what or how to prepare for them
Actually Sapsiree and Yaqiong are good friends outside the court. I've seen a lot of photos of them together visiting each other from time to time.
For the TC this evening, INA also going for the experienced Ahsan/Setiawan in MD2 vs the youthful CHN MD, Li/Liu - another tough battle on the cards for the CHN TC Team
I think she has been for a long while now even in her partnership with BYX which was short-lived last year.
That's on paper, in team majors, the psychological factor can cause upsets because few players can play their normal game, some crumbling, a few above themselves, and many see-sawing, and only the minority can play to their capacity. Alway expect the unexpected. Remember what happened to Chen Long previously, and Shi Yuqi is known to be unsteady under pressure.
