saw lin dan get slapped by taufik @ 2005 worlds 15-3 15-7. ld was faster than taufik but was dominated in all other aspects. point being 2005 lin dan was still young, inexperienced and inconsistent. but, it was clear to everybody watching he'd be the next big superstar. what wasn't clear, and is never clear, is how long would he reign? you're totally right, however, it's different for a world class athlete. if it wasn't, according to biology, the top 100 athletes in any sport should be filled with 32-34 year olds because by that age you'd have experience & peak physicality on your side, right? what % of world class athletes dominate past the age of 32? it's easy to name a few in each sport, but when compared to how many total athletes there are in a given sport the %'age is very very very small. we tend to only hear about superstars and forget how many others are also competing every year. take the top 10 athletes in any sport (since they're considered to be the best) and count how many are 32+. then divide that by the total number of participants in the sport. what % did you get? hell, take the average age of the top 10 athletes in any sport and let us know what you find out. lin dan is my badminton idol, but i live in reality. he's old for a world class athlete. it makes beating all the young guns more enjoyable to watch because i don't expect him to. for as long as he's playing i'm still watching.
Lin Dan has beaten a lot of Top 5 players this year LCW (twice) Son Wan Ho Viktor Axelsen Chou Tien Chen Shi Yuqi Chen Long (Had three match points). Funny enough how Lin Dan lost to his compatriots twice having three set points..In All England,against Yuqi, Lin Dan was 20-18 up in the first game and then 22-21 up again but lost the set 22-24 and against Chen Long in Australia, he was 20-18 up and then 21-20 up but lost the set 21-23. Let's take a moment and laugh at LD ...hahahahahaha
I get where you're coming from. But after all, in an actual match, it's about execution. No amount of tactical adeptness can discount a player the ability to play the shot itself. No point in devising the perfect strategy if you can't play the shuttle exactly how you want. I think there are many very smart players out there, but not a lot of them become greats. In fact, I believe there are many more tactically mediocre but technically strong players who become successful than there are successful tactically-oriented players (all speaking in relative terms of course). Obviously his isn't to cast doubt on the quality of LD's tactical awareness. It's just that, in my opinion, if LD's "head" is 1 in 1000, then his "arm" is 1 in 1000000.
Am I talking too much? I usually try to comment only on things I have at least a little knowledge about. I definitely don't want to come across as a smart-aleck or anything, cos I'm not one (I hope).
yup, and it's the physical aspect that masks (makes up for) youth and inexperience. perfect example is zheng siwei. the sky is the limit for his superstar potential, but jesus christ, his shot selection is highly ?'able. fortunately he's 2 steps faster than all other xd players so his speed saves him from a lot of self-inflicted trouble. 2008 physical peak lin dan would run right through 2016 master lin dan. i would expect it to look something like this: https://i0.wp.com/i.amz.mshcdn.com/-o0DIUQMSSV7QmUfC8qb0BnQ58Y=/fit-in/1200x9600/https://blueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/card/image/178294/https---blueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com-uploads-card-image-177742-GettyImages-589521390.jpg
Fair enough. Of course there is absolutely no doubting that Lin Dan is physically one of the greatest player we have ever seen. However if you take some of the big LD v LCW matches; Lin Dan was more often the physically weaker player, (and when i say this, obviously take this with a pinch of salt because the difference is very small). However his reading and mental edge pushed him through countless times. Having said that, when I made the original comments, maybe I was too focused on LD v LCW. I do see your side because against 99% of other player Lin Dan is physically better.
you're totally right, however, it's different for a world class athlete. if it wasn't, according to biology, the top 100 athletes in any sport should be filled with 32-34 year olds because by that age you'd have experience & peak physicality on your side, right? There are many reasons for this not happening. Injuries and motivation are the two major reasons. Since LD seems injury free, I was discussing only about motivation. He should try to win every tournament and every match and get into the winning habit for the last 6 months or one year of his glorious career. Otherwise we might see him fade gradually which, to all the fans, would be an anti-climax.
are you talking about lin dan specifically, or world class athletes in general? if you're talking about world class athletes in general you're wrong. you think there could be 90+ more 32-34 year old athletes in the top 100 of a given sport if it weren't for injuries and motivation? if so, i think you need to do some basic research. i will concede one thing on the motivation aspect of athletes: if i constantly faced younger inexperienced athletes with inferior skills run circles around me i'd sure as hell be less motivated. if you're referring to lin dan specifically he may very well be injury free, but, like, he's still old for his profession. i never speculate on motivation for any athlete because i'm not living their life and i'm not a mind reader. that's hard enough to do during the peak of your career. how do you expect him to do it now? we've been seeing it since 2014. do some basic research on the 'peak age cycle of an athletes career' for all sports. it may help you let go of vintage 2006-2013 lin dan.
Let him play, let him fade out however he wants. You know what's the saddest thing that could happen to an athlete's end? Trying desperately to go out with a bang and failing to do so. In that regard, I actually much prefer LD's more relaxed attitude now than that of some other "greats". Taufik was looking for that final big hurrah but never getting it, and his dwindling passion towards the end of his career just bummed me out massively. I am starting to sense that with LCW as well, but I really hope my impression is wrong there. LD, on the other hand, seems to be having as much fun playing as he ever has--good enough for me as a fan.
i'd like to see lcw win in scotland. after the career he's had i'd hate for him to be the answer to the ?'n 'who is the best player to never win an og and wc after reaching 3 finals in each?'
The only other time Lin Dan was seeded 7th this year was at CELCOM Axiata Malaysia Open Premier Super Series.
IMHO, Lin Dan's reading of the game and anticipation is second to none, and it gets better with age as he accumulates vast experience and profound knowledge of the game, just like some fine wine , the older, the better. Rather, it's his physicality as he ages that often struggles to cope, at most he could for one or two matches if his opponents are young and strong, but less so throughout the entire tournament round after round. However, I still believe he can win tournaments that he specially prepare for to peak at the right time. And then after that he's likely to fall briefly into a lull period as he unwinds and slackens or rest in order to restore and rejuvenate himself once again for another ascent. Like he himself said, he is not old but just an older, more senior team member in the national team and,I hasten to add, in the badminton world at large.
he has reached 'master' status. i think what's lost in a lot of observations is how cardio can affect subtle changes in a game. i.e. 'blowing it' on seemingly easy game point opportunities. when you're tired you will make errors on shots you would normally make with your eyes closed, and the observer is expecting the same. lin dan may even think to himself 'damn, that was an easy shot. i should've made it.' why? because in our minds we are convincing ourselves we are still able. (this is the most common cause for athletes who don't know when to quit.) another reason is we don't feel the subtle changes in our speed and power. it takes a moderate change in speed and power for us to feel it, and others to see it. in a 32 draw tournament he needs to win 5 matches against the rest of the best. scotland is a 64 draw so he'll need to win 6 in 6 days. yikes! i'd like to see lin dan win it for no other reason than to raise the bar of what it takes for future players to be the next g.o.a.t. if not, lcw for the reason i stated above. if not those two, srikanth kidambi (who i think will win). fun to watch, and what it will mean to india. making badminton big in india is great for the sport worldwide. india will join the million dollar tournament prize pool club.
Well said, esp the part on subtle physical changes in one's body that the athlete may not be too aware of though somehow I think Lin Dan is conscious of his age catching and the expected attendant drop in his physicality which is why he's purposely transforming his game post-LOG'12 into a more controlled rallying stroke play. Also nowadays, despite his improved fitness than the preceding two years, I often see him choosing safer shots than going for the killer shot which is more effortful and risk the possibility of return with interest kind of shot by very able defenders. As for Srikanth, I reserve my comment at this time because it's only his first win in six meetings against Chen Long who, as we now know, was not at his best. At most I'd admit he is a dark horse and my bet is still on one of the Super Trio to take the World Champs at Glasgow. True, Lee CW deserves at least one major title for being such a great player and perpetual rival to The GOAT Lin Dan and to the current champion Chen Long as well the past few years and still is. So far, like Peter Gade and Taufik Hidayat who once said something similar, I'm of the opinion that no one has emerged to be a truly worthy successor of Lin Dan and Lee CW in the same mould though I 'm wiling to concede Chen Long came the closest which is why I consider him one of the Super Trio but his inconsistency in garnering the non-major tournaments is concerning and a disparagement. Not that Chen Long is unable to achieve it as he has proven it in 2015 with seven title wins and the BWF Best MS Player award. If I may say a few words about Shi Yuqi, his game is mostly simple, straightforward, almost predictable, somewhat lacking in creativity and deception, but there is still room for improvement and he is improving, besides, age is on his side at 21, born 28 Feb 1996. Don't forget, K Srikanth is 24 now and he's suffered several hard knocks over the years and I don't see why it should be any different for the gifted Shi Yuqi.
I think Shi Yuqi is pretty deceptive, he has a very relaxed hitting motion that lools similar for almost all shots from any given position, and his late crosscourt net shots are accurate, very safe (not a lot of errors) and often so unexpected he scores a direct point. He is also a very stable mover on court, hard to throw off balance. Reminds me a bit of Chen Hong in his play style, although he relies less on his backhand. I think he might develop into a really dangerous player, maybe even a #1 kind of player.
