??? How come Hendra Setiawan gets so few votes?? Clearly this guy is the current "king of speed" at net. He doesn't show many "fancy techniques", because he doesn't need to. He is so fast and so efficient that he just intercepts and then kills. Similar to Ge Fei, he makes hard things look easy, and thus may not be very impressive at first sight... I think Hendra is the best today, comparable to Tony at his prime.
i think the title of the thread is best player at the net.... not best achievement player at the net?
How can you be the best if you have no great achievement to back you up? Define the word "best" otherwise???
I kinda feel bad for KKK in this case, cause he must be really really bad in the other departments to be the best net player yet "unsuccessful".
that would be me ! i have done things to mavis 300 at the net that i haven't seen anyone done them before. Too many to mention lah.....
Hendra Setiawan, and Tony Gunawan before him, bases his net game on timely interceptions and anticipations. Which is why Hendra is probably the most effective at the net in the modern game (French SS Final is one demonstration of his effectiveness). Having said that, unlike Tony Gunawan, Hendra is still very much a one partner player and not quite as adaptable with other players other than Markis Kido. Koo Kien Kiat, on the other hand, does more outrageous shots and unexpected replies, mainly to get his team out of trouble. On this, he is generally successful but sometimes he does it too far even when not under pressure, and this has cost him some victories.
Perhaps.. ..i don't know the detailed history of Hendra's playing partners, but i take it he hasn't played much w/any other players other than Markis?!?! Also, i feel INA's current MD players are average, at best, unlike during Tony G.'s time where there can be up to 3-4 very good pairs (Rexy & Ricky, Halim & Sigit, Candra & Tony, Eng Hian & Flandy L.). In fact, they're so good, they're all pretty much interchangeable, yet, still able to bring home the titles.
ina is pioneer in modern day doubles game... those days they were way ahead of other nation in terms of men doubles...
They are still ahead... I would say MK/HS and LD are the leaders of current MD, MS, with futuristic, superman-like, styles.
I'll definitely have to start watching Hendra more... The case about Tony is how he partnered Howard Bach to still clinch WC2005. If you compare Howard with Chandra, they both throw very impressive bombs but Howard is a pretty straight forward player whereas Chandra has quite a bit of variation. Comparatively, Howard is a lot less effective at the net than Chandra. This demonstrates that Tony is indeed a very versatile player. That said, his best performance does come from having a wingman like Chandra. This is evident even when he partners Chandra although both men are past their prime. To be fair, Howard's game has improved a lot -- at least he's a lot more effective at the net.
Ohh, that one.. ..one contentious WC MD match in history (that left one thread locked). Too bad we couldn't watch more of Tony & Howard after that WC victory.
^^Yes they have..^^ ..but so are other pairs..We just haven't seen more of T & H competing and won another title after that 2005 WC victory..
I doubt they can reach top 3... Top 10 should be achievable though. In fact, except for 2004-05, Tony/Howard is never a top pair...