Olympics: Event Discussion - USA#1
08-18-2016
, 10:03 PM
08-18-2016
, 10:08 PM
08-18-2016
, 10:13 PM
08-18-2016
, 10:31 PM
08-18-2016
, 10:42 PM
08-18-2016
, 10:52 PM
Here is a prolonged heads-up to anyone remotely interested in the Badminton event (cuz I'm excited I guess EDIT: this turned into a preview). For those who watched it four or eight years ago this is the unlikely sequel to the drama back then and the end of an era.
Tomorrow or later if you will (very early for Americans) in the men's semi-finals we will have a repeat of probably the most storied matchup and rivalry in the history of this sport.
It's a repeat matchup of the last two Olympic finals and several World Championship finals over the years. It's actually a little bit surreal that this is a semi-final and not yet another final between these two titans of the sport, but more on that later.
The greatest badminton player of all time, 2x Olympic Champion, 5x World Champion Lin Dan vs the iconic rival he has continuously bettered in the biggest finals, Lee Chong Wei.
Arguably these are the two best players ever, even if Lee Chong Wei's legacy will forever be hurt by the big final's losses (enough that you can only safely say that he is one of the best ever but not one of the very greatest ever) unless he finally returns home to Malaysia with the gold medal.
Lee Chong Wei is the biggest sporting hero in his country. There has been almost indescribable pressure on him during the Olympics, while Lin Dan, who has already done everything and more, possibly will also be feeling some heat with the China badminton team, which clean sweeped every gold medal four years ago, this time around has won nothing and their leader, the puppet master villain of Badminton, Li Yongbo is finally under some pressure and fans are questioning his authority. It doesn't help that China were also knocked out early in the Thomas Cup (Badminton's premier team championship) earlier this year. The world is catching up currently!
When it comes to Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei there are so many different storylines and narratives surrounding this match, dramatic things that has happened in the four years since London to both of them, that I'm not sure I can do it justice as only a somewhat casual follower of the sport, but for starters right now in 2016 Lee Chong Wei is FINALLY the favorite.
Even when Lee Chong Wei was number one in the world from 2008 to 2013 winning tournament after tournament that wasn't the case.
One year later following their dramatic Olympic final they met in the 2013 World Championship final and it followed a familiar epic path where Lee Chong Wei for large parts of the match played at an unheard of high level and tempo looking like the even better player only to once again fall apart in the deciding moments and Lin Dan in the CLUTCH winning yet another gold.
That was probably the last great Lin Dan performance though... Following that he took a long break from the sport and when he came back he was lowly ranked and sometimes couldn't get wild cards. He has always been a somewhat controversial figure and became such a big star in China that he was the only one who had freedom to do whatever he liked and with that often had battles with the authority figures. It's actually a little bit surprising that he hasn't retired already enjoying his outside interests and superstar-freedom so to speak.
Lin Dan has won various tournaments since, including some select big ones, but his form has been very erratic on and off the last 3 years and he will lose matches and look bad in ways that used to never happen.
There is not much indicating that right now he can perform at the GOAT level from year's past but I guess through his legendary defense and general skill he can still put great wins together when very motivated and if anyone in the history of the sport has a psychological advantage over a specific opponent in certain moments it is Lin Dan over Lee Chong Wei.
Even if Lin Dan should beat Lee Chong Wei once more, there are also real question-marks if he then has the stamina to also come through in a tough final.
Lee Chong Wei on the other hand is the one who when he is playing well who still looks much closer to the great player that he has always been, but he has also had major setbacks in the four years that has passed.
He had a major doping controversy that resulted in an 8 month ban through 2014 and 2015.
Then, maybe even worse than that (now that the doping ban controversially ended up being short), with the decline of Lin Dan and his old rival not being the force that he used to be, Lee Chong Wei in the last few years has still managed to lose a couple of World Championship finals, this time to the current best player from China, Chen Long.
In general I don't think Chen Long ever plays at the level of Wei or Dan at their best, but he is someone you always need to be at your very best to beat (he is the fittest and most consistent), and it's questionable if the two older stars can still do that. As they got older and had setbacks, Chen Long simply took advantage with his greater consistency and became the number one player in the world.
His semi-final against Dane Victor Axelsen will take somewhat of a backseat compared to most likely the final important match between the legends, but it's nonetheless an interesting one.
Axelsen has probably been the biggest talent in the sport the last few years and now of course has already become one of the very best players but he is yet to really get over the hump, in finals in general and most importantly particularly against the likes of Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei. He's been getting closer and closer though and actually beat Chen Long the last time they met. It is 1-7 between them now, while he has never beaten Lee Chong Wei in their matches, they're getting closer and closer.
Edit:
A couple of overview articles:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/...-match-that-w/
http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/badm...-epic-showdown
Tomorrow or later if you will (very early for Americans) in the men's semi-finals we will have a repeat of probably the most storied matchup and rivalry in the history of this sport.
It's a repeat matchup of the last two Olympic finals and several World Championship finals over the years. It's actually a little bit surreal that this is a semi-final and not yet another final between these two titans of the sport, but more on that later.
The greatest badminton player of all time, 2x Olympic Champion, 5x World Champion Lin Dan vs the iconic rival he has continuously bettered in the biggest finals, Lee Chong Wei.
Arguably these are the two best players ever, even if Lee Chong Wei's legacy will forever be hurt by the big final's losses (enough that you can only safely say that he is one of the best ever but not one of the very greatest ever) unless he finally returns home to Malaysia with the gold medal.
Spoiler:
Lee Chong Wei is the biggest sporting hero in his country. There has been almost indescribable pressure on him during the Olympics, while Lin Dan, who has already done everything and more, possibly will also be feeling some heat with the China badminton team, which clean sweeped every gold medal four years ago, this time around has won nothing and their leader, the puppet master villain of Badminton, Li Yongbo is finally under some pressure and fans are questioning his authority. It doesn't help that China were also knocked out early in the Thomas Cup (Badminton's premier team championship) earlier this year. The world is catching up currently!
Spoiler:
When it comes to Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei there are so many different storylines and narratives surrounding this match, dramatic things that has happened in the four years since London to both of them, that I'm not sure I can do it justice as only a somewhat casual follower of the sport, but for starters right now in 2016 Lee Chong Wei is FINALLY the favorite.
Even when Lee Chong Wei was number one in the world from 2008 to 2013 winning tournament after tournament that wasn't the case.
One year later following their dramatic Olympic final they met in the 2013 World Championship final and it followed a familiar epic path where Lee Chong Wei for large parts of the match played at an unheard of high level and tempo looking like the even better player only to once again fall apart in the deciding moments and Lin Dan in the CLUTCH winning yet another gold.
That was probably the last great Lin Dan performance though... Following that he took a long break from the sport and when he came back he was lowly ranked and sometimes couldn't get wild cards. He has always been a somewhat controversial figure and became such a big star in China that he was the only one who had freedom to do whatever he liked and with that often had battles with the authority figures. It's actually a little bit surprising that he hasn't retired already enjoying his outside interests and superstar-freedom so to speak.
Lin Dan has won various tournaments since, including some select big ones, but his form has been very erratic on and off the last 3 years and he will lose matches and look bad in ways that used to never happen.
There is not much indicating that right now he can perform at the GOAT level from year's past but I guess through his legendary defense and general skill he can still put great wins together when very motivated and if anyone in the history of the sport has a psychological advantage over a specific opponent in certain moments it is Lin Dan over Lee Chong Wei.
Even if Lin Dan should beat Lee Chong Wei once more, there are also real question-marks if he then has the stamina to also come through in a tough final.
Spoiler:
Lee Chong Wei on the other hand is the one who when he is playing well who still looks much closer to the great player that he has always been, but he has also had major setbacks in the four years that has passed.
He had a major doping controversy that resulted in an 8 month ban through 2014 and 2015.
Then, maybe even worse than that (now that the doping ban controversially ended up being short), with the decline of Lin Dan and his old rival not being the force that he used to be, Lee Chong Wei in the last few years has still managed to lose a couple of World Championship finals, this time to the current best player from China, Chen Long.
In general I don't think Chen Long ever plays at the level of Wei or Dan at their best, but he is someone you always need to be at your very best to beat (he is the fittest and most consistent), and it's questionable if the two older stars can still do that. As they got older and had setbacks, Chen Long simply took advantage with his greater consistency and became the number one player in the world.
Spoiler:
His semi-final against Dane Victor Axelsen will take somewhat of a backseat compared to most likely the final important match between the legends, but it's nonetheless an interesting one.
Axelsen has probably been the biggest talent in the sport the last few years and now of course has already become one of the very best players but he is yet to really get over the hump, in finals in general and most importantly particularly against the likes of Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei. He's been getting closer and closer though and actually beat Chen Long the last time they met. It is 1-7 between them now, while he has never beaten Lee Chong Wei in their matches, they're getting closer and closer.
Edit:
A couple of overview articles:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/...-match-that-w/
http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/badm...-epic-showdown
Last edited by Bjørn; 08-18-2016 at 11:11 PM.
08-18-2016
, 11:58 PM
