World Team Cup 2018

[zeio]

Great effort by Pitchford. LGL had a lot of good things to say about his performance today.

 

[RidTheKid]

Ma Long just brings tears of joy to my eyes. What a player.

 

[zeio]

After seeing the interpreter had trouble translating, LGL said ML should've kept it more simple, and that the interpreter could've just picked the most relative points to interpret.

 

[Atas Newton]

Well done, team England and especially Pitch! Well deserved bronze.

 

[RidTheKid]

No doubt LGL knows his TT, but what difference would it have made considering ML only dropped 8 points in total. I think Ma Long showcased almost all of his skills except the mental ones he needs to bring out when trailing during matches.

After seeing the interpreter had trouble translating, LGL said ML should've kept it more simple, and that the interpreter could've just picked the most relative points to interpret.

 

[Kaiwen]

Great performance of the team England against China! they are warriors, I really like that!

 

[zeio]

No doubt LGL knows his TT, but what difference would it have made considering ML only dropped 8 points in total. I think Ma Long showcased almost all of his skills except the mental ones he needs to bring out when trailing during matches.

I fear you've misunderstood me. In the post-match interview, LGL said ML should've kept his response more succinct so that the interpreter could've an easier time translating it. Interpreting in real-time when someone is not familiar with the technical terms is really difficult.

 

[huaweip9]

Just download Zhangyu android app from its website Zhangyu TV to watch in HD. I just did from outside China, in Asia.
Just created a new account here for access from gadget, an old time visitor indeed

 

[huaweip9]

Tomo made great comeback in 3rd set vs Lam, HKSAR, in the 5th match in QF. Should Lam took that set he might have chance to carry HKSAR team to semi.

 

[huaweip9]

JPN vs KOR in men's semi, a 50-50 match. But think KOR has a slight upper hand with its current line-up. I think this is one of strongest line-up of KOR since many years.

 

[Junting]

It is interesting that the match between FZD and Liam Pichford is surprisingly similar to the match between Ma Long and LP in 2016 Rio Olympic team events, China vs England.

ML vs LP 3-1(6:11, 11:4, 11:9, 11:9) in 2016 Rio Olympic Games
FZD vs LP 3-1(8:11, 11:3, 11:9, 11:9) in 2018 World Team Cup

Both ML & FZD had very unfavorable beginnings(ML 0:6, FZD 0:5) and lost the 1st set. Then at the 2nd set they won easily. In the last two sets they both struggled with LP and finally had very close winnings(11:9).

 

[Atas Newton]

Don't get me wrong, Pitch is a top caliber player, but I attribute CNT members' struggles to his wingspan. Think about it for a second, most of the time they play against each other and they're all quite small, especially for athletes. Ma Long is indeed not very long (I apologize about this terrible pun) at 1.75 m, Fan Zhendong is 1.73, Zhang Jike is 1.78, Xu Xin is the tallest of the bunch at 1.81. The Japanese players are shorter yet. There was a number of balls today that would've been straight winners for Fan Zhendong in Super League but Liam was on top of them with relative ease. First set is accomodation, second set the reaction, rest is the re-reaction from Pitchford, but he fell just short both against ML and FZD.

 

[jawien]

It is interesting that the match between FZD and Liam Pichford is surprisingly similar to the match between Ma Long and LP in 2016 Rio Olympic team events, China vs England.

ML vs LP 3-1(6:11, 11:4, 11:9, 11:9) in 2016 Rio Olympic Games
FZD vs LP 3-1(8:11, 11:3, 11:9, 11:9) in 2018 World Team Cup

Great observation! Wow overall only 3 points of a difference for the whole match ...

First set is accomodation, second set the reaction, rest is the re-reaction from Pitchford, but he fell just short both against ML and FZD.

Agree. It is clearly psychology. Like when a player reaches 10 points, have a tendency to rest "mentally" for a while and usually looses next couple points.

What I also noticed, the player who was trailing behind and made it to 10-10, suddenly becomes nervous himself and tends to lose the next point ...

 

[rainneverever]

LGL's commentary: Pitchford is all-around. In Rio OG, ML said Pitchford gave him some headache. I asked him why. ML said he had not played him before. He does not have obvious weakness, but no trump card either. If the player is not in a great form at the beginning, it is not an easy match against Pitchford. No wonder Tomo got beaten.

 

[TTLondon2012]

Fan Zhendong vs Liam Pitchford

 

[rainneverever]

LGL's commentary on ML's style: ML is one of a kind. He plays shakehand with a heart of versatility like a penholder. That's why it is most difficult to learn his style. I once asked ML what style is your style? I said, a perfect combination of Jan-Ove Waldner and Kong Linghui, that is ML.

 

[jawien]

LGL's commentary on ML's style: ML is one of a kind. He plays shakehand with a heart of versatility like a penholder. That's why it is most difficult to learn his style. I once asked ML what style is your style? I said, a perfect combination of Jan-Ove Waldner and Kong Linghui, that is ML.

Eeeech ... I would not agree. Neither of them were so aggressive as Ma Long is. JOW and KL had similar styles with perfect blocking abilities, ball placement - this is not such a big part of ML's game ... is it?

 

[rainneverever]

LGL's commentary on FZD's style: When does FZD's have best form? When he plays in a "boring" way and wins 8 out of 10 points in the same mode. He is not very versatile. If he makes better preparation to study the opponent before the match, he will barely drop a game. In the later part of the match, he feels like programmed. His opponent also loses in a "boring" way. When ML plays, the opponent loses points in different ways and when FZD plays, the opponent loses points in the same way. It is easy to guess what FZD will do next. Some people said FZD should learn from ML to become more versatile. No, FZD won't be FZD if he is more versatile in general. He just needs to learn how to be more versatile at crucial points.

 

[huaweip9]

Thanks rainneverer for posting the LGL comments here. It's ever interesting to read those comments by a Master Guru! No nonsense. No BS

 

[huaweip9]

Too bad! A prime hour of TV time in London is the early morning hours even approaching dawn in Asia. Still thinking whether or not to keep awake for the very late hour show