Tantowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia brought home mixed doubles’ trophy of Sunrise-Yonex India Open superseries badminton tournament in New Delhi on Sunday after outclassing compatriots Fran Kurniawan and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth
antowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia brought home mixed doubles’ trophy of Sunrise-Yonex India Open superseries badminton tournament in New Delhi on Sunday after outclassing compatriots Fran Kurniawan and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth.
The event’s fourth seed Tantowi and senior player Liliyana, who grabbed silver medalist of Beijing Olympics in 2008 with Nova Widianto, managed to conquer junior pair Fran and Pia 21-18, 23-21.
Liliyana said that she was optimistic she would get along with new partner Tantowi. “But, we still have a long journey to walk on. We should not be satisfied of what we have gained today just yet.
“We need to stay focus because there are a lot of matches to come,” Liliyana said in a text message after the bout.
Indonesian mixed doubles’ coach Richard Maenaky said that he was proud of what his shuttlers did in India Open. “They performed well as taught during training sessions. The maximum target was actually just reaching semifinals.”
Besides the all-Indonesian players in mixed doubles, Indonesia also had young talents Angga Pratama and Ryan Agung Saputra in men’s doubles final. The pair, however, lost 21-17, 21-9 against fourth seed Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata.
In other plays, world No. 1 and top seed in the event Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia as expected grabbed the title after crashing third seed Peter Gade of Denmark in rubber 21-12, 12-21, 21-15.
The title was the 18th Superseries title captured so far, yet the first India Open crown for the Malaysian hotshot. It was also Lee’s 12 victory in 13 meetings against the Dane in Open tournaments.
Top seed Miyuki Waeda and Satoko Suetsuna of Japan grabbed the women’s doubles trophy after beating compatriot Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa, who were second seed, 26-24, 21-15.
Meanwhile, in women’s singles, non-seeded Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand upset third seed here Bae Youn-joo of South Korea 21-13, 21-16 to carry home the trophy.
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