I have just watched this pair beaten by LYD/JJS at 2012 AE. All i can say is that, I am very impressed with their speed & power, incredible. No player dominant over the other at the front or back. Additionally, Hong Wei is just as good at front as he is awesome at back. Shen Ye on the other hand did not that deceptive at back & front but he is fast & hardworker. These pair lost to LYD/JJS was merely due to too many unforced errors committed by both of them. I am looking forward to watch them whacking up some high rank MD. It is just enjoyable to watch them compared to watch CB/GZD, much more dynamic. They made us wanna go on court & play badminton ASAP, while watching them, i can't sit on my couch & be relax, i have to stand approaching the LCD and mimicking with my hand every times they drive or smash.
I think Hong Wei is a combination of CY/FHF. He has a strong smash like FHF, and agility like CY.. he just needs to be consistent & gain a lot of real competition experience. If he succeed, CBA just need to find his partner who is better than Shen Ye, if there is any, if not, than Shen ye might fit the bill as well.
After searching through the web.. Shen Ye height is 180Cm which is quite surprising since he did not look that tall at the LCD screen..
This team has improved a lot in the past year. I always get excited to watch them play. Hong Wei is so tall and has a very powerful smash. Shen Ye is a solid player and can stay in the rally, but doesn't win many points from his racket, despite being the front court player. I feel Hong Wei needs a faster partner and a better net finisher as a partner. There really is only 1 Cai Yun...how can anybody replicate his speed and net kills? But I think Zhang Nan or Liu Xiaolong might be better partners for Hong Wei, partnering their speed with Hong's tremendous power.
In preparation match for WC against Fu/Cai, Shen/Hong got obliterated. what a pathetic pairing. They have no skill whatsoever, just hit the shuttle as hard as they can with no tactics.
Shen Ye has been playing in the CBSL so he obviously isn't injured. I think he just retired from the national team because he wasn't at a high enough level. He couldn't compete against the top MD teams with Hong Wei. Hong Wei/Chai Biao on the other hand has shown the ability to compete with top level teams. Shen Ye didn't really have the great front court skills, and wasn't powerful either.
