Definitely KOO KIEN KEAT because I am a HUGE fan of him. Plus the fact that he can actually play very well when hes in good condition. Followed by Cai Yun and Lee Yong Dae.
After watching countless matches i conclude that Hendra Setiawan is the best front court player ATM if not all time. Its a bit of shame that Kido does not have the same quality as him, IMO Kido does too many costly mistake. I also think Tony Gunawan and Cai Yun are the masters of the front court play.
Eventhough the vote here shows Cai Yun is currently the best player at net, most professional players, ex-professional players and badminton commentators i.e Gillian Clark and Ian Wright reckon that currently both Hendra Setiawan and KKK are the best front court players while Hendra is just slightly better than KKK. The slight differences is because KKK while at his best, tend to be "adventurous" at some times and this tend to lead to mistakes, but if avoided, that shot will be a miracle, out of this world type of net play. Comparing by sheer deception skills, anticipation ability, speed and the super sense awareness in detecting even the narrowest empty space in their opponent defense, both Hendra and KKK are par and personally, both are unmatched by any rivals at the front court while they are at their best.
they are good but not better than kkk and tbh which are one of the best,but not the best. They're not there yet... just almost there... cy and fhf... are not considered one of the best... They're exceed that level... They're ultimate!
are u sure? The kkk team losed 5 consecutively to cy and fhf... Just in case you can't understand english, i'll write in malay: kalah 5 kali berturut turut
I take back my second part of the comment on post #464, Kido is now back to his best. That said, NO DOUBT Hendra Setiawan is still the best frontman today. He simply enables the whole creative and attacking play, his cross courts, drives, drops, nets, blocks, trick shots are simply awesome, and if all of those factors are combined Hendra is simply second to NONE.
Indeed...we have seen in the previous few weeks that Lee Yong Dae was simply outclassed at the net, which left him and Jung Jae Sung very subdued, if you compare them when playing against Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun.
Cai Yun is my favourite, although Hendra is very very close. He has slightly better interceptions on drives, but CY is faster around the court and covers a wider area - although I think it's hard to judge because they always play with a partner, and MK is just not on FHF's level imop. FHF is fitter, has better angles, more power....I still can't believe they lost the Beijing final. HS was outstanding though. Tony also has to be mentioned - although I haven't found as much footage of him as of the others, what I've seen is just amazing. Not to mention that he has enjoyed quite a bit of success with Howard Bach, who, imho, is just not a world class player.
For those who had the opportunity to watch this legendary player in the 80's - 90's ruled the badminton world..........i still consider PARK JOO BONG to be the best front-court player of all time. Proof: the greats also agreed to this - Rudy Hartono, Christian Hadinata, Han Jian, Punch Gunalan, Eddy Choong..........the list goes on. Cheers!!
Yes the great PJB is the most feared and hold the legendary status of that time. All double players looked up to him like no one else. IMO although INA had great doubles in the past, it is PJB style that had been adopted into the likes of Rexy, Sigit, Chandra, etc. That said PJB lost many times to INA pairs.
Eh, to my recollection, Park Joo Bong & Kim Moon Soo has never lost to any Indon pairing in their entire career of ten years. My friend spoke to Rexy Manaiky two weeks ago........and he also confirmed that they (Rexy-Ricky) has never beaten them and to his knowledge, none of his Indon counterparts have beaten the Korean legends..... PJB/KMS has only lost to two pairs in their history, and that is Tian Bingyi-Li Yongbo and Razif-Jalani Sidek combo. I think the Korean pair you are refering to is Kim Dong Moon-Ha Tae Kwon. Hope the info is insightful.........Cheers!!
Hi Yoppy, Park Joo Bong-Kim Moon Soo retired after winning the 1992 Olympics Gold medal match in the Men's Doubles. They did not play in the Thomas Cup 1994. Park Joo Bong came back in 1995 and played in the 1996 Thomas Cup edition partnering Kim Dong Moon whacking Denny Kantono-Antonius 15-0, 15-5 in the semi-finals. The indon coaches watching that match, all shook their heads in agreement that PJB, is truly formidable, coming out of retirement and beating the best in the world at that time. There was a write-up in the newspaper on this match........I think Christian Hadinata gave a comment on this performance by PJB.
I see, thanks for the info. I still remember somewhere in my DVD collection there is at least one match that PJB lost. But anyway maybe im wrong. BTW, just realised you mentioned the word Indon, just to let you know thats a incorrect reference for word Indonesian
Hi Yoopy, No problem, we are just sharing our passion with other badminton enthusiasts. Oh ya, forgot to share this, PJB/KMS lost to Zheng Yumin & Huang Zhangzhong in 1991 World GP Finals - Semifinal match.... Ooopss, sorry i used the short-form........will use the proper word in future correspondence. Thanks for the pointer. Cheers!!