Mohd Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan as a new pair is official already with Herry IP statement on Indonesia Local Newspaper. Hope this pair a bright future and could demonstrate a fast game with brilliant placed shuttle that we has been eager to see. The next tournament for this pair would be 2012 Denmark Super Series Premier & 2012 French Super Series, looking forward to it.
Please refer to below Indonesia Local Newspaper website : http://olahraga.kompas.com/read/2012/08/30/21351893/Hendra.Setiawan.Dipasangkan.dengan.M.Ahsan Posted before by wilcan at Kido/Hendra thread
Sad to hear that Kido and Setiawan is no longer partners. I hope the new pairing will produce better results.
Their first event as an official pair would be Denmark Super Series Premier 2012 against CBA young promising guns, Hong Wei / Shen Ye in the first round. If they are able to tame them, which i hope they will, their next opponent would most probably be Endo / Hayakawa. All the best for Ahsan / Hendra.
Malaysian coach, Tan Kim Her, did not see Ahsan/Hendra as a future potential threat.... The success of top men pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in the Denmark Open will depend very much on whether they can coup with handful of new pairings they will be up against in Odense. Hosts Denmark, South Korea, Indonesia and China have split some of their top pairs and are all trying out new combinations but unfortunately for Kien Keat-Boon Heong, they will be facing one of the most dangerous new pairings in the form of Lee Yong-dae-Ko Sung-hyun of South Korea in the opening round. The pair are making their international debut. Yong-dae and Chung Jae-sung won the bronze at the August London Olympics after which the latter decided to retire leaving Yong-dae to pair up with Sung-hyun in Denmark. The other new partnerships hoping to make a mark are South Korea’s Shin Baek-cheol-Yoo Yeon-seong; Indonesia’s Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan and Bona Septano-Afiat Yuris Wirawan; China’s Zhang Nan-Chai Biao. Denmark will be blooding their new pairs Rasmus Bonde-Mads Conrad-Petersen and Jonas Rasmussen-Joachim Fischer Nielsen. National doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her expects a major shift in the pecking order starting with the Denmark Open. ‘We did not split our top pair but many have done so. This will surely see some changes in the ranking order by the end of this year,” said Kim Her. “I think, Yong-dae-Sung-hyun are set to grow into a formidable pair but it will not happen immediately. They may take some time to adapt. “I reckon the match against Koo-Tan in the first round of the Denmark Open will be equally contested. After all, this is Yong-dae-Sung-hyun’s first match as a pair. “For now, I see South Korea’s two new combinations and China’s Zhang Nan-Chai Biao as the ones with immense potential to develop into strong pairings. “Indonesia’s former world and Olympic champion Hendra has teamed up with Ahsan but I do not see this partnership going far. Age is catching up on Hendra and his form has dropped.” (www.bam.org.my) What do you think guys?
Sadly, that's true that Hendra may not be at his best. But Kidho/Alvent are old too and yet they are still top 20 material. Hendra/Ahsan should be better than them because Ahsan still hungry for success. Hendra has the experience. At the moment, they are probably the best INA pair but to give real threat to the rest of the world and capture no 1 rank, Indonesia MD need to develop the young pairs.
After beating the 4th seed in 2012 Denmark Super Series Premier, Ahsan/Hendra campaign on their first tourney as an official pair will be tested by Korean Young MD, Shin Baek Choel / Yoo Yeon Seong who has beaten 6th seed from Japan. Wish them luck.
Congratulations Ahsan/Hendra! Eventually, as new paired winning for the first time SS title in the Malaysia Open SS.
What can I say....beating the current in-form pair in Lee/Ko comfortably and winning the title in Malaysia will shut Tan Kim Her up.
I asked Hendra "Will you go for the second Olympic Gold?" He said "Yes I will, that the target its not easy with many rising young pair but i still believe my experience can help" Focus tu amat penting..
In the Malaysia open final md against Ko / Lee, Setiawan was displaying his usual amazing front court forte. But what was amazing was Ahsan... he was playing with such fire and skill, from everywhere on court, front, mid, back! He was playing like a man possessed! I don't recall seeing him playing this well before. An amazing replacement to fill in Kido's shoes.
