Olympic Games PREDICTIONS

The Olympic games are just round the corner!


Men's Singles
Just a year ago, Taufik Hidayat was looking good to defend his title and become the first person to ever defend an Olympic Men's Singles Gold. Now his chances are obviously diminished, and he obviously is not considered one of the medal prospects, due to the recent string of loses and dissapointments. The obvious favorites are Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, but do not discount anyone in an Olympic Game. It is one tournament, one, very, stressful tournament, and it is traditionally not the top top players that claim this medal. But from my viewpoint, I think we will see a Lin Dan vs. Lee Chong Wei final. As to who will win this, Lee Chong Wei did win the last meeting, but expect Lin Dan to be anything but a pushover. Look out for the first round match between Ronald Susilo (who beat Lin Dan in the first round in 2004) and Lee Chong Wei.

Men's Doubles
I would say that the favorite for this title is Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae. However, all top pairs have been kept from participation in tournaments for the past few months, hence we do not actually know who is in what form. Based on the most recent form, Jung/Lee, and Kido/Setiawan are good contenders for the title. However, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng obviously have the home crowd advantage, and don't discount the Malaysian pairs of Choong/Lee and Koo/Tan. Overall this is a very hard discipline to predict. For all you know, it is none of the above that would actually win.

Women's Singles
The Chinese trio of Xie Xingfang, Zhang Nin and Lu Lan are obviously the favorites for this title. Not many can pose a credible challenge, except for Tine Rasmussen, Xu Huaiwen and Wong Mew Choo. The homecrowd and the pressure on the Chinese trio can either work in favour of them or against them. The last person to win a title in China is Wong Mew Choo, where she beat 4 Chinese players to win the title. Tine has been quite impressive of late, while Xu has always been a credible threat.

Women's Doubles
Obviously a shoo in for the Chinese pairs. I would say based on current form, Du Jing and Yu Yang appear to be the favorites. The only pair I see is able to threathen the Chinese dominance is the Korean pair of Lee/Lee.

Mixed Doubles
A tight fight between Nova/Lilyana and Gao/Zheng. The other two pairs I see being able to pose a threat is He Hanbin and Yu Yang and Flandy Limpele and Vita Marrissa. Other than that, a Nova/Lilyana and Gao/Zheng finals, with Nova and Lilyana claming the title.

Stay tuned for more predictions and news!