For me... 1. Lin Dan 2. Zhao Jian Hua 3. Heryanto Arbi Lin Dan marginally beats Zhao because he is a touch more powerful and consistent. In terms of technique, smash angle, placement etc I would have to say ZJH is the best the world has seen. If only he had a bit more power there would be no beating him in this category. Having said that ZJH would more than make up for his slight lack of power by being able to achieve some incredibly steep angled smashes. I've not seen anyone else since his retirement able to achieve smashes as steep as he was able to and as consistently as ZJH, they were often quite astonishing and an absolute joy to watch. I'm sure racquet technology would have contributed to smash power to come degree, so it's probably unfair to say ZJH lacked power compared to LD. Heryanto Arbi for me has the best cross court smash and round the head smash. I remember the first time I watched him play it was a such a contrast to the other players around at the time. He has a very unique style and was amazingly fast around the court. He generated quite a lot of power from the the mediocre (power-wise) Cab20 which was probably because he was able to arch his arm back that much more than everyone else.
In all the tournaments I have seen, LD's smashes were consistently faster then TH's, by at least 20 km/h. But what makes LD the best smasher in my mind is that there are many shuttles other players could not smash, but because of his backward jump, either on the forehand or backhand side, LD could. LCW is now doing that also. So being the best smasher is not only about the smash quality, but the capacity of smashing in all positions and conditions. And that is LD.
We also can add another important quality to a smash : the recuperation. One has to keep one's equilibrium and move forward right on landing.
Love to say Lin Dan , but LCW does has the most effective smash. He is not the tallest of guys but the contact point when he meet the shuttle is so high that he can find a great angle in his shot. He has great deception on the direction of his smash ,and the power he can generate is phenomenal.
Too bad we don't have the speed meter to measure since the 70s. I bet some of those old guys could be more powerful. Those who were not born during the 80s will of course vote for the current players.
Taufik had some of the best smashes during his younger age thats why I'm going to have to go with Taufik on this
Zhao Jian Hua when he starts to smash, it is hard to stop him. He is a very good runner with excellent racket control.
If accuracy and consistency score higher than power, I'd pick Lee Hyun-Il. His smashes (and they're far from powerful) land almost on the lines. And, yes, most of them turn out to be winners!
I thought Lee Hyun-Il smashed pretty hard? I remember seeing a video of him smashing 310km/h in Madrid 2006.
In Madrid, everyone smashed over 300^^ He is not the most explosive attacker though, relying more on accuracy and consistency than power.
After watching the final today, I can safely say that LD has a monstrous smash compared to LCW. The only one who can match him would be Taufik but unfortunately I haven't seen him live
world number 6, Kenichi Tago's smash from the base line is devastating IMO. Often end rallies with that good-to-hear bazooka sound
