Also, TH wasnt 'always' defeating LD. Just in the 2006 Asian Games and 2005 WC, I think - in the 2004 OG LD went out against Susilo (I think) and other than that, TH won no big titles, no AE, and only one Super Series iirc. No doubt he was a great player, but his achievements pale in comparison to LD's...
Top 5 at the moment 1)Chen Long 2)Lin Dan & LCW 3)Axelsen 4)Srikanth 5)Momota Also,Boonsak Ponsana and Marc Zwiebler have some problem hitting smash winners...IMO,they should consult BC Experts here
^ LCW, KS, VAand even Mr choker PK are surely better smashers than CL not talking about anything but aggression that's it... Also Wei Nan,BP, JOJ to some extent
What???Choker,Wei Nan,Boonsak Ponsana better smashers than Chen Long? Bro,studying too much Chen Long needed just one smash many times to Kill Lee Chong Wei's defence in the Final of WC.With very Powerful legs and Giraffe-long figure,it must be scary to see him leap in the air....Srikanth,one of the best smashers in the world was unable to break LCW's defence in the Sudirman Cup despite getting numerous oppurtunities...Also,i think JOJ lacks power in his smashes due to his style of swinging but is effective as his placement is very good...VA,i don't think so...LCW,might be better...
Lin Dan the best smasher. Singles smash is all about getting the job done and not about pure speed. I think back in 04-08 there was nobody better. Round the head, straight, the height and angles incredible. He also hits the lines so accurately. Nowadays less so. Taufik was quicker but not as able to keep coming up with heavy relentless hitting. Though the AE QF in 2008 with Lee Chong Wei was fun to watch because he tried to blast LCW off the court. Amazing aggression even though he lost. Nowadays the biggest hitter without a shadow of a doubt is Wei Nan of Hong Kong. Watch his denmark open matches with LCW and Chen long, he was able to consistently hit winners straight through both. LCW has the best cross court smash i've ever seen, but he's not the biggest hitter, he also makes a lot of errors with the straight smash. It's the jump he gets that makes LCW an effective smasher.
I'm sorry but Chen Long smash isn't that scary. I have watched Chen long and wang zhengming playing on the same court in successive matches at the all england and WZM is a much harder hitter. Tho in all other respects WZM is inferior. Peter Gade didn't have the hugest smash either. Boonsak didn't either though they are both excellent players. Jan O isn't that devastating.