i got this article from a chinese website and translated it...my translation probably isn't very good though The continuous big games have tired the players out and due to the fact that the players were not in their best form is one of the most important reasons to their defeat, though they have learnt a lot from it. Winning and losing is something very normal in sports, but Li YB expresses that in a matter of 40 days, the Chinese team have competed in the Swiss Open, All England, and the Korea Open. Furthermore, they have had to play from the preliminary rounds all the way into the semi-finals and then the finals, and this has caused the players to become very tired, without time to recover and play in their best form. As well as that, the lighting and draught in the stadium is advantageous to the offensive players with more experience. On the other hand, it has a bigger impact on those with better technique and control. The (chinese) players have also expressed that they were not too used to the lighting and the draught. "Of course, those are all the objective reasons. Actually, the players' tactics were not properly used and made too many unforced errors. Furthermore, the younger players did not have enough experience and when they had a chance to win, they let it go, and this was the main reason to our defeat." Li Yongbo said truthfully. They were unable to win in the two singles event even though they are the team's stronger events. Li YB said "When Bao Chunlai was leading 13-10 in the first game, he had a good opportunity to win, but he let it go, causing a turning point in the Men's singles event. Bao is still young and inexperienced, and did not adjust his mental conditions very well. He wanted to win and prove himself too much and as a result, he was too nervous and messed up the whole game." To the fact that Gong Ruina lost in the finals, Li YB said "Gong Ruina is a player that features in good technique and control, and was influenced greatly by the lighting and draught in the stadium. However, the main reason is that Gong did not use her tactics well, and her methods were too simple. She did not use enough drop shots at the net. Against a player with over 10 years' experience like Mia, she needs to play more persistently using appropriate tactics. Li YB pointed out that Zhao tingting and Wei Yili made too many errors in transition shots from the back of the court. They did not smash enough and when they did, they made too many errors etc. Finally, Li's point of view on the young men's doubles pair Cai/Fu is that they're not scared to play their game and give it all they've got. They played extremely nimbly. They made a very good effort and were enthusiastic. They behaved very well, and the only problem was that they did not have enough experience. lol..it seems as if he was only satisfied with Cai/Fu...anyways, enjoy the article
yes certainly... they all had faults as do everyone else... afterall they are only human... let's hope every defeat serves as a stepping stone to eventual victory... but let's also not take away anything from the victors who played very well to defeat their opponents...
I'm sure their (china) biggest objective is the olympic and having players peaking at that time is the main goal. The Swiss, AE, KO, JO are just tools for them to earn position/points for the olympic. Of course, winning some of them is nice too but the olympic means the most to china. All IMO.
I feel that the WD will be one of the most intresting events in the olympics (No, really, i do!). The korean players are awesome defensivley, fitness wise, tactics, and of course mental stregth. Their only weakness is their attack, they sometimes dont have enough to finish the rallies when they can. The chinese Are always very attacking in the WD, and against most teams this is enough, however against the koreans, they tire the chinese, until they can counter the chinese, but their attack is not that good, so leads to very long games. (witness at least 2 2hour plus matches) LYB says they made two many errors, and didnt smash, and when they did they made errors. I say this was because the koreans are so quick, that if they play weak shots (Drops, short clear,) they will pick up, and gain advantage. So chinese have pressure to play brilliant shots, so make more errors. They are afraid to smash too much, as they know if they do, the koreans can reply, and tire them out, so mullifying their main strength. If they tire, their smashes are not strong, so they are a much easier proposition. He said they made mistakes when they did smash...I say becuase they know the defence is good so have to make theiur smash hard, and well angled. They have to make it angled, as the chinese p[airs are bigger, so if they play flat, then the koreans are much better at flat play, and invariably lose. For the chinese to win, they need to play slower, and make attacks angled, play more nets, and high lifts. I think if LYB cdoesnt accept that they need to change their play to beat them, they will lose. They were fortunate in the KO that They (koreans) had a gruelling semi. And they were lucky in the AE that they had match points and lost. The koreans can beat all the chinese pairs, I have no doubt about that, I hope LYB realises this too. Looking forward to it in Olympics. For the koreans to win, I feel all they need, is to keep it flat. Their style is not so good, as they rely on strong defence, they are likely to have longer matches, and so tire themselves for the later stages. RKM being so comfortable in XD makes it more chance for them to do well in WD. I bet Korean to win at least two Golds at Athens. WD + XD, and maybe MD.
I agree with you, WD along with MD and XD will be the most interesting event. I think the question is whether the Koreans will be able to beat at least two of the Chinese team. I personally want Wei/Zhao to win. In XD, however, I want Kim/Ra to continue their winning streak. And in MD, I'm rooting for Cai/Fu.
You forgot the Indonesians who have great chance to win as well. The Malaysians and Danes are the darkhorses. You are also forgetting another matter. In JO, Ra and Kim did not play in the XD. So they concentrated on one event each, and even then, they had to fight hard to be champions in a slightly depleted field. Could they have won if they played in the XD? It does pose a dilemma for the Koreans. The gold in XD is almost a sure thing, but there are two golds to be had in MD and WD.
hmm actually i think ra can handle both events quite well... and well seemingly the only chinese pair that can somehow push the koreans to such long matches is gao huang... so if ra lee have a lucky draw and don't appear in the same half as them during the olympics i say they stand a very good chance... but then again yang zhang and wei zhao are not be underestimated also... afterall it wuz ra lee that frightened the chinese into rearranging the WD pairings to its present form... frankly in the XD, if everything goes on smoothly, ra kim should take the medal... no pair.. not even gao zhang seems to be anywhere near their level when they are in form... but then again... olympics is months away... and with hardly any competitions in between... haha it'll be interesing... MD... haha yes i'm rooting for cai fu also ... haha though it's really hard to say who will win cos it will all depend on who the most in form pair is... kim ha, JR lars, choong lee, alven luluk etc all have the potential to win if they are in form so i'd say it's pretty open...
Li YB said in an interview that since all the players already tried their best, he did not blame any of them and none of them got told off.....also, they gave them a whole day's rest and when they analyze this event, they're even going to go somewhere nice (maybe the great wall of china) to do it...... i guess Li YB isn't as harsh as we think he is...
