Heh...
I will start this post by quoting myself from a post I made yesterday "I predict a 2 set win to Chen Long :D"
(https://steemit.com/badminton/@snuden/player-profile-1-kidambi-srikanth)
So dear readers... Don't bet your hard earned STD on any of my predictions.
I also wrote that Indian males tend to be more defensive and playing very classic...ehm... :/
While it IS true that they play a very classic badminton (almost comparable to a ballet dancer!) with almost flawless technique, Srikanth showed us yesterday that he certainly can play the attack role as well, while maintaining a solid defense.
First set became a pretty close affair, with Srikanth coming out on top 22-20 after he had been trailing 17-19. I think what really made a difference was that Srikanth was so good at mixing his game, mixing strong attack with a solid defense, often outplaying Chen Long.
Second set saw Srikanth getting an early lead and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there.
I think one of Chen Longs biggest mistakes was that he was not aggressive enough, this COULD be because he is in "heavy" training towards the world championships, which is just around the corner. This could explain why he would hit the ball at a slightly slower pace, thus not being able to attack as much as he probably should have.
Srikanth won on his first match-point, when Chen Long returned a serve way out of the back line.
Not taking anything away from Srikanths win, but had that match been the final of the world championship, I think we would have seen a different Chen Long. We might also had seen a different Srikanth though :-)
Anyway, Srikanth certainly deserved the win and I really look forward to see him again - hopefully at the world championship in August.
2017 Australian Open Mens's final Kidambi Srikanth vs Chen Long
Stay tuned for more badminton!