Li Yongbo expects exciting time ahead as many countries are catching up fast – Badminton news
Considering the incredible improvements that a few countries displayed in the current Thomas Cup Finals, China’s head coach Li Yongbo predicted exciting time ahead and also declared it a healthy sign for the sport.
In the proceeding Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in China, the early exit of badminton power-houses like Indonesia and Malaysia have proved that other countries like Japan Taiwan, Germany and Thailand are catching up with an impressive speed.
The 49-year-old Yongbo said that besides the prominent nations like China, Denmark, Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia, many other countries are putting in extra effort and it seems that the competitions in the near future will be interesting as many shuttlers
from different countries are expected to become potential contenders.
While talking about the exit of Indonesian and Malaysia from Thomas Cup Finals 2012, Yongbo said that they are gradually losing their status among the top teams in the world.
He said, “Two strong teams – Malaysia and Indonesia – struggled in the Finals. It shows that their advantage as powerhouses are slowly being eroded as others are catching up. This is good for the sport – it won’t be boring.”
China will face the spirited female shuttlers from Korea in the final of Uber Cup. The Koreans won the last editions two years ago while playing against Chinese line-up.
However, Yongbo is optimistic that result will be different this time as he said that Chinese shuttlers will put up good show at home.
He said, “I was hoping for South Korea to reach the final. Our team lost to them two years ago. Now, we want our girls to show that they are the better team at home. Wang Yihan lost in the first singles two years ago but we are confident she will make amends
tomorrow (today).”
The competition at international level had become challenging as besides the top badminton nations, many other countries have shown an incredible improvement and the skill gap is decreasing with an immense pace.
Nevertheless, the more potential contenders fight at international stage the better it will be for keeping the spirit of badminton alive throughout the world.
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