Underdog Mentality

I have been the underdog ever since I started playing badminton. For too long I took this for granted and always looked down at myself and didn't realize the progress I was making. What I really didn't notice was how much the underdog mentality actually helped my confidence. One thing I noticed early on in my career, was that I performed noticeably better in matches that I had no business winning. I believe this is mostly because there was a complete lack of pressure on myself. Like when I draw the first seed, or any other incredibly strong player, I basically just try to get as many points as I can, maybe take a set off them. And then I just go out there I leave my heart on the court. I love these games. I mean obviously I hate getting bad draws, but these all-or-nothing games are what I live for.
 But there is also a strong form of edge pressure that affects me in certain situations. By situations, I mean when I am on the brink of defeating a top player. Often when I am faced with the possibility, a whole new type of pressure sets in. The "I might win" pressure. I had the opportunity to talk to France's top player Matthieu Lo Ying Ping at last years' Canada Open, when he was on the razor's edge of defeating Taufik Hidayat. He had taken the first game, and was up 19-15 in the second. He told me that he was so bewildered by this, that the game really started to get away from him. He ended up losing that set 21-19, and then ultimately the match.
 I will leave you with this to think about:
 If I played Lin Dan tomorrow, maybe I would only get one or two points... But he would be heavily criticized for those two points he lost against a young, inexperienced Canadian...  While I would be praised for those same two points...