@mikescully Do you know what type of knee injury Okuhara had in 2013 to both of her knees? All I could find was meniscal injury, but I don't think that would've been serious enough to sideline her for almost 2 yrs.
@visor, She had a left knee medial meniscus surgery, it didn't take her 2 years but only 10 months including rehabilitation and rest. She was hurt in January 2013 but already made a comeback in China Open November 2013. 2013年1月に左膝の半月板を損傷し、手術を受けた。 高校卒業後、2013年4月に日本ユニシスへ入社。故障から休養を経て11月の中国オープンから実戦に復帰 (Taken from her wiki page)
There's also always mention of both knees having suffered severe injuries, so her right knee probably meniscal too?
The left knee injury inflicted pain on her right knee (maybe due to imbalance and burden from moving) but there was no mention that it also suffered the same kind of injury, and the surgery was only on her left knee.
Would appreciate any information on Xue Song anyone? And any information on whether the juniors are going to feature in the upcoming tournaments?
No news is good news, I hope. May he come back stronger than ever. At the All England, he actually disposed of Chen Long, Viktor Axelsen and Kento Momota before sustaining that fateful injury in his semifinal match with Lin Dan. Looking forward to see him scale the heights again.
OK, thanks, I got mixed up. Xue Song beat Prannoy in R1, Chen Long in R2, Viktor Axelsen in the QFs before meeting Lin Dan in the semis. Yes, it was Tian Houwei who disposed of Kento Momota. Anyway, I see Xue Song as the best prospects to fill big shoes after Lin Dan is expected to retire after Rio, leaving Chen Long the only one to lead the charges. Tian Houwei and Wang Zhengming, well,I don't have to say much. So far, I haven't seen similar exciting promise in Shi Yuqi (20 years old), Qiao Bin (perhaps but he's not that young, 24 now), Huang Yuxiang (23 yrs old), Lin Guipu (19), Zhao Junpeng(20) yet. Without at least two top MS players, CHN would be under even more threat as it already is in team championships, regardless how reliable Chen Long is, though for a couple of years at most, Lin Dan may still be around to offer his services as MS3 (as his WR is unlikely to stay high enough as his career unwinds).
I think Rio 2016 marks the end of Lin Dan's career. CHN MS young guys need to step it up. Chen Long is the best right now, but one good player isn't enough, especially since CL isn't particularly reliable during team events (Thomas Cup '14 and '16 disasters). Either Tian Houwei or Xue Song or the biggest prospects. How bad is his injury?
I dont see how Tian Houwei can beat the best consistently he is the jack of all trades but master of non.
Xue Song is just coming back from injury, not sure how he'll perform. Realistically, we should give him some time to be match fit, even if he is more or less physically fit or recovered. I don't think highly of Tian Houwei who at age 24 still doesn't have any sterling results to show for though he's in the finals of two Superseries, the HK Open SS 2015 where he lost to LCW, and the AE PSS 2015 lost to Lin Dan. True he suddenly rose to prominence for a while after sensationally beating LCW at the 2013 AUS GPG but for several years after failed to follow through with results to match. Those others among his peers, Huang Yuxiang, Qiao Bin, Guo Kai, aren't impressive either. I think Xue Song, aged 22, born 22 Jan 1994, looks more promising as he was about to make a breakthrough at the AE'15 beating Chen Long and Axelsen before his fateful injury struck in his semifinal match with Lin Dan. Besides him, there's another youngster, a junior player, Sun Feixiang, aged 17/18, this year's Asian Junior Champion, whom I'm watching out for. The slightly older juniors like 20-yr-old Shi Yuqi and 19-yr-old Lin Guipu are on my radar, hope they will shine one day. With Lin Dan most probably retiring from active competition after Rio OG, it's imperative for new blood to take over as CHN cannot afford to rely too much on the newly crowned Olympic Champion Chen Long, alone, esp for the team tournaments.
Agree your assesments of the juniors. Two more juniors Tang Zhenning and Lu Guanzhu can be added onto the list.Its time for all of them to be exposed to the circuit to pick out the best performers. It would be exciting. Any news on Li Yongbo Justin?
The two juniors who performed creditably at the CHN Masters, Tan Zhenning and Lu Guangzhu (who gave Lin Dan a good fight )? Li Yongbo is coming under criticisms and there are calls for his resignation. The head of the China Table Tennis and Badminton Center , Cai Zhenhua, and the China National Sports Bureau Head , Liu Peng, have both spoken, they are displeased with him and what's happening in CBA that's causing Chinese badminton's poor performance at Rio'16, some management issues, esp the Yu Yang embarrassing incident as seen on TV. We have to wait awhile to see his fate.
Not sure if he'll be fired, his contributions to CHN badminton is so huge, the higher-ups cannot simply sack him unless he committed a serious violation or offence or brought disgrace to the nation, Criticisms, direct and indirect, have already been leveled at him from the authorities but he himself he says he wants to carry on as long as the team needs him. I think it won't be long before we know the answer. Noticeably, he didn't attend the reception at Beijing by the state leaders nor did he go for the HK felicitations trip which may point to something. Let's see.
You sure know his true value, what he can bring with him, his immense knowledge,vast experience and valuable resources, priceless. I won't be surprised CHN sports authority regard him as a national treasure, just like Grandmaster Tang Xianhu who was well taken care of by none other than Li Yongbo himself by making him the principal of his Dongguan Academy.
