I think we are seeing the next dominant style of play which is great for badminton. Liu/Qiu’s style is similar but I find their attack is slightly better than their defence and they seem more consistent than Ahsan/Setiawan – but they would probably get better as they play more.
I have to say this new pairing has been the biggest recent surprise for me. It’s refreshing to see how good this pair are and how different their style of play is. The more I watch this pair play, the more I am convinced this will be the dominant style of play for years to come.
Unlike other pairings where there’s usually a strong rear court player paired with a fast and smart front court player, with Ahsan/Setiawan they are both relatively equal in most areas. Both are equally good at playing at the net and while Ahsan struggles a little with sustaining heavy rear court smashing, he is accurate and fast. Both have great disguised rear court drop shots which they mix well with cunning smashes.
Whilst others rely on a heavy rear court smash to create an opportunity for the forecourt player, A/S’s style of play seems to neutralize that style to some extent by introducing a lot of flat play and varying the speed of their attacks with many cross court shots. By not lifting the shuttle (unless absolutely necessary) they prevent their opponents from getting into that conventional attacking formation and stops the big smashers from doing what they do best - pounding down the smashes. This is significant drawback to the likes of Fu, Ko etc where they are unable to unleash the big smashes and I’m sure A/S know that.
I am most impressed by how clever (and fast) their play is. Setiawan seems to have an uncanny ability to read the game extremely well, know where the gaps are and is deadly accurate. He is such an astute player and I think Ahsan gives him that confidence to do that, more so than with Kido.
I genuinely believe that when this pair are on form, there really aren’t many that will be able to stand in their way, now that JJS/LYD are no more. Tactically Qiu/Liu are probably the only pairing I feel can stand up to them now unless others can respond and change their tactics.