Whether Li Shifeng’s All England title marks the start of a second Lin Dan-ish period of China’s males’s singles dominance is the query throbbing on everybody’s thoughts in badminton. Anders Antonsen titled his YouTube present with Hans Kristian Vittinghus that approach. During the dialog, Antonsen talked about how his 95-minute semifinal towards Li felt like he had not performed a greater participant earlier than and compelled him to play at his greatest, such was the standard of his opponent.
Furthermore, it was the Chinese 1-2 that caught eyes and ears perked up, as Malaysia coach Hendrawan informed The Star, “It is feasible for China’s males’s singles gamers to dominate once more. If you see now, they’ve 5 gamers within the prime 30 on this planet who’ve all the identical requirements.
But what does Lin Dan’s comparability evoke? For one, Super Dan has extra titles than some other Chinese on the market. He final received in Birmingham in 2016. China’s final title got here in 2018 via Shi Yuqi, who beat Li 26-24, 21-5 this time. “I’m so excited. I really don’t have words to express my feelings at the moment. It’s a huge reward for all the hard work I’ve put in. Although I’ve got the All England title, I’m more I want to aim for titles. Lin Dan has been my role model since a very young age. He is a role model for a lot of players,” he would say concerning the six-time All England champion. Li separates himself just a little farther from Lu Guangzu (No. 10), Zhao Junpeng (No. 13) and Weng Honyang (No. 27), not solely by beating Yuqi, but additionally as a result of it’s the All England the place he has received .
🗣️ on his exceptional victory over Li Shi Feng 🇨🇳 #All England2023,#BWFworldtour pic.twitter.com/KDsi1J5DTW
— BWF (@bwfmedia) March 27, 2023
Li Shifeng began the sport at 6 o’clock on the insistence of his father. “My father confirmed me movies of Lin Dan day by day throughout my childhood, asking me to repeat his taking part in type. If there’s one thing I do not know (on the courtroom), I watch Lin’s movies to seek out the solutions. But I’ll go on. Now I’ll comply with within the footsteps of my idol to struggle within the World Championships and Olympic Games.
A gold medalist on the Buenos Aires Youth Olympics in 2018, with the title, he’s additionally forward of his illustrious batch of former teen stars, together with Kunlavut Witidsan, Lakshya Sen and Kodai Naroka, who beat them within the run as much as match victories. beat all or championship finals. At the 2021 Aarhus Thomas Cup, Li received 5 of his six matches towards Kunlavut within the quarters and Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama within the semifinals, whereas China superior to the ultimate.
After defeating Kento Momota within the All England, Lee informed Xinhua: “Kento was my idol. I am very excited to play against him and win the match. I never expected this result. I believe I have made a lot of progress in the last season and have become more experienced.”
comply with up
Li Shi Feng 🇨🇳 is the primary males’s singles participant to win this century @YonexAllEngland initially of the match.#All England2023 he additionally has a house #BWFworldtour Topic. https://t.co/QS11YeWDdB pic.twitter.com/yxdlOHjv31
— BWF (@bwfmedia) March 19, 2023
That scalp appeared to fill her with confidence, and the All England end result, although showing out of the blue, was not precisely sudden, with Li ending the German Open enterprise. “Hopefully, I can keep this feeling alive,” mentioned the 23-year-old shuttler. In Birmingham, he did that, after which some extra, making his All England debut.
China ended the 2020-2022 All England version with no title for the primary time since 1996, a reversal of fortune. In reality the summer season of 2022 proved to be fierce for the Chinese. The semi-final loss was to Indonesia within the 2022 Thomas Cup (when India received). The Lee story could be traced again to China’s 3–0 defeat to Indonesia, the place Lee admitted that his single defeat was ‘unacceptable’.
Ng Tze Yong 🇲🇾 and Li Shi Feng 🇨🇳 will take to the courtroom within the males’s singles quarterfinals.#BWFworldtour #All England2023 pic.twitter.com/v58TG4tKhb
— BWF (@bwfmedia) March 18, 2023
China.org.cn lamented quickly after the Thomas-Uber double whammy: ‘The ladies’s failure, nonetheless, pales compared to the boys’s group’s wrestle to fill the void ever left by retirement. Has not been profitable. Legend of Lin Dan. China misplaced 3-0 to Indonesia within the 2021 remaining, having final received in 2018.
Zhao Junpeng admitted that his efficiency was certainly weak and that he was very hesitant and nervous, lacking many possibilities, and Li Shifeng lamented his personal defeat. China has received the Thomas Cup 10 occasions earlier than, together with 5 in a row, which occurred from 2004 to 2012 with Lin Dan on the helm.
Doubles legend and up to date of Lin Dan, Cai had believed that the Thomas Cup sting would spur gamers to enhance for a severe rebuild, and the All England 1-2 was precisely what he predicted.
Nevertheless, after the Thomas Cup Chinese badminton chief Zhang Jun mentioned: “I wish to apologize to all of the Chinese followers. Sorry we allow you to down. We have been so assured to at the very least win the Uber Cup, and to lose There are not any excuses. From singles to doubles, we have now many issues to unravel.
“The general efficiency of the boys’s group was disappointing. The youthful technology of Chinese male gamers is growing, however they nonetheless lag behind the highest gamers on this planet. We have to discover a higher coach for him.”
The outcomes of that churning can be what appeared on the All England, a formidable efficiency, and a 1-2 whose results have been seen in all places. Viktor Axelsen could not have been taken out by a Chinese – Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong beat him – however like Antonsen and Vittinghus, the Super Dan will discover that Super Dan-like Chinese dominance sounds thus far Not trying. He stays forward of the pack, however there are numerous snapping on the heels – with the Chinese outstanding as Paris {qualifications} start and the Games strategy.
The Chinese are identified for choosing their massive occasions, and the All England is certainly at all times on their radar, peaking. Of the final 30 All England males’s titles, surprisingly 15 have been received by the Chinese, and the remainder by others. Heading to the title in Birmingham might be the beginning of a brand new period of Lee dominance.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
