Can Lin Dan still participate in the Tokyo Olympics?
Under the influence of the new coronavirus epidemic, the national feathers, which have gone through many twists and turns, can finally participate in the competition.
html On the afternoon of November 11, the 2020 All England Open will be held in Birmingham, England. The world's top teams including China, Japan, South Korea and India are gearing up to compete for the most important Olympic points before the Tokyo Olympics.In order to participate smoothly, Guoyu came to the UK more than half a month in advance. But from the current point of view, their Olympic points form is not optimistic, especially the men's doubles has not yet received a full quota of Olympic seats, and veteran Lin Dan's hopes for the fifth Olympics are also slim.
Guoyu arrived in the UK for training in February.
Amid the epidemic, many teams "drifted" overseas
The All England Open has a long history. This event has been held since 1899 and has a history of 121 years. Even in the minds of many players, its importance is second only to the Olympic Games and the World Championships, so it is also known as the "Little World Championships".
But this year’s event is different from the past: due to the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic to Europe, with 373 confirmed cases and 6 deaths in the UK, the British government has held multiple emergency meetings to discuss the possibility of holding the All England Championship .
After weighing many factors, the All-England Organizing Committee issued a statement on the 9th saying that the competition will be held as scheduled. But what is different from the past is that the Badminton World Federation allows players not to implement the handshake rule. "You can use applause, hands together, etc. instead, to show respect."
However, the seriousness of the epidemic has still caused many players to "persuad them to quit." . Seven players from the Indian team announced their withdrawal from the All-England tournament due to concerns about being infected with the virus, while Sindhu, the new World Championship champion, insisted on playing.
"I want to win the All England Championship this year. This is one of my long-term goals." Sindhu said that she has taken preventive measures for this, such as not shaking hands with her opponents after the game, but putting her hands together to show respect. We have to take care of ourselves, it's almost everywhere, even in India."
In fact, most of the players are thinking the same thing as Sindhu. During the critical period of the Olympic year, every team and every player is fighting for Olympic points, so they will compete without hesitation no matter what, and are even willing to "wander" overseas for a long time.
For example, the South Korean team, which was severely affected by the epidemic, was rejected from the Indian Open, but they were lucky enough to get the opportunity to participate in the All England Open. After the All England Championships, they will continue to compete overseas and are expected to return to China at the end of April.
and the Korean team also chose to "wander" as well as and the Japanese team . In order to perform well at the Olympic Games held in their home country at the end of July, the Japanese team also decided to stay abroad for training and competition after participating in the British Championships, and then return to China after the last Olympic points competition.
It was the Chinese team that went overseas for training earlier. As early as mid-February, the first batch of Chinese badminton players left for the UK to prepare for the German Open and All England Open in March. However, the German Open was subsequently canceled due to the spread of the epidemic.
Veteran Lin Dan’s back is full of muscles.
Poor fortune, Lin Dan encountered strong opponents one after another
The outbreak of the epidemic not only forced many teams to "wander", but also made the players who originally competed for Olympic points anxious. Among them, the one that worries Chinese fans the most is Lin Dan. His road to the competition is also extremely bumpy.
Due to visa problems, Lin Dan was unable to make it to the UK with the first batch of national badminton players. Originally, he planned to go directly to Germany to compete, but later the event was cancelled. In desperation, he applied for a visa to the UK in Germany.
But the outside world is very worried that Lin Dan will miss the All England Championship-after all, if he wants to participate in the game on March 11, he must first self-isolate for 14 days. But obviously, All England gave him and the Korean team the "green light".
As the "darling" of the All England Championship, Lin Dan achieved an unprecedented "six crowns" here. He won the All England Championship for the first time in 2004, and then won the championship in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2016 - that was also his era.
However, facing the increasingly fierce competition in the world badminton world, Lin Dan's hope of participating in his fifth Olympic Games is becoming increasingly slim.
If you want to qualify for the Olympics, you must rank in the top 16 in Olympic points, and each team can only send two players to participate. Lin Dan's current Olympic points are only ranked 30th, already behind three teammates of Chen Long , Shi Yuqi and Lu Guangzu ...
As a Super 1000 event, the All England Open is an important event for Lin Dan. Chance. However, his luck in signing was not good. In the first round, he ran into three consecutive World Youth Championship champions, 20-year-old Thai Kunlavut. Even if he passed the first level, he might still meet his teammate Chen Long in the second round.
After the All England Championships, Lin Dan also signed up to participate in the Swiss and Indian Opens. Not to mention whether these games can be held smoothly, judging from the draw alone, it will be very difficult for Lin Dan - he will meet his teammate Shi Yuqi in the first round of the Swiss Championship.
Lin Dan has already encountered several "round trips" in 2020.
There is not much time left, and the national feathers need to strive for points.
Big brother Lin Dan's Olympic prospects are becoming increasingly bleak, and the burdens of other national feathers are not light.
Judging from the draw, the national badminton men’s singles seem to have good luck. Chen Long, Shi Yuqi, Lin Dan, Lu Guangzu and Zhao Junpeng are concentrated in the lower half. They avoid the upper half with Zhou Tiancheng, Jin Ting, Ng Jialang and Antonsen . Only Huang Yuxiang is in this area.
Currently, Chen Long is ranked 6th in the men's singles Olympic points rankings and is in a relatively favorable position; Shi Yuqi, a young player who has returned from injury, is ranked 13th. If he cannot successfully compete in the future, he may fall out of the top 16 at any time and lose the Olympics. Possibility of qualification.
However, Momota Kento , who was injured in a car accident, was unable to participate, so the All England Championship is also an opportunity for Shi Yuqi. The 2018 tournament champion will face Indonesia's Sugiarto Junior in the first round, and may face teammate Zhao Junpeng in the second round; if he reaches the quarter-finals, he may face Danish star Axelsen .
Chen Yufei is currently the leading figure in the national feather women’s singles.
The national badminton women's singles also have to work hard to get full seats in the Olympics. Currently, only Chen Yufei, who is ranked number one in the world, is also ranked first in the Olympic points rankings, and her Olympic qualifications are already guaranteed; He Bingjiao and Wang Zhiyi are ranked 9th and 14th in Olympic points respectively. They also rely on Participate in competitions to determine Olympic qualification.
According to the lottery, defending champion Chen Yufei will welcome the 18-year-old South Korean genius An Xiying in the first round, and her path to promotion may also encounter Ratchanok, as well as two world championship champions, Okuhara Nozomi and Sindhu.
Young player Wang Zhiyi, who is participating in the All England Championship for the first time, will face Zhang Yanyi of Hong Kong, China in the first round. He Bingjiao's opponent in the first round is Gilmour of Scotland. The two have relatively good draws. Zhang Yiman and Cai Yanyan will challenge the two former world number one Ma Lin and Tai Ziying respectively in the first round.
men's doubles is the only event in Guoyu that is not fully booked. Only Li Junhui / Liu Yuchen is relatively stable. Han Chengkai/ Zhou Haodong currently ranks 11th in Olympic points. This All-England Championship will be their best chance to win a second Olympic ticket.
In contrast, the mixed doubles and women's doubles of Guoyu are currently in good shape. Zheng Siwei / Huang Yaqiong and Wang Yilu/ Huang Dongping occupy the top two spots in the mixed doubles Olympic points; the world number one in women's doubles Chen Qingchen/ Jia Yifan ranks second in the Olympic points. Du Yue / Li Yinhui ranked 7th.
This year’s road to the Olympics is destined to be full of obstacles, but this is also the time to test young people like the national feathers.
