After winning their second consecutive All England superseries premier title, Indonesian mixed doubles pair Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir are setting their sights on winning the World Championship that will be held in Guangzhou, China, from Aug. 5-11, 2013.

“After this, we will take part in the Swiss Open [from March 12-17 in Basel, Switzerland], but there’s a more important competition that we have our eyes on, the World Championships,” Liliyana said in a press release sent to The Jakarta Post.

She said the victory at the oldest and most prestigious All England Championship had encouraged them to perform better in other international events.

Defending champions Tontowi and Liliyana won 21-13, 21-17 against fifth-seeded Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei of China — the 2012 London Olympics gold medalists and the 2011 World Champions — at the tournament in Birmingham, England, last Sunday.

“I present this title to my family and coaches Richard Mainaky, Nova Widianto, Yanti Kusmiati and Endra Mulyajaya. This is the remarkable result of our hard work,” Liliyana said.

Their victory last year in the same competition ended Indonesia’s title drought at the event. Indonesia last won at the All England in 2003, when men’s doubles pair Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya triumphed.

As for the mixed doubles, Indonesia last won in 1979 with Christian Hadinata and Imelda Wiguna.

Commenting on Liliyana and Tontowi’s second All England title, the chairman of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) Gita Wirjawan said their achievement in the competition showed the regeneration of Indonesian badminton was on the right track and that the sport’s development had a promising future.

He added that this year nine of Indonesia’s shuttlers had advanced to the quarterfinals with four into the semifinals.

Last year, aside from Tontowi and Liliyana winning the competition, only Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka and men’s doubles Mohammad Ahsan and Bona Septano, managed to advance to the quarterfinals.

This year’s World Championships will be the second attempt by the Indonesian pair. In their first championships in London, in 2011, Tontowi and Liliyana were crushed by British pair Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier in the semifinals.

Liliyana won gold twice in the mixed doubles event with her previous partner Nova Widianto in the 2005 World Championships in Anaheim and in 2007 in Kuala Lumpur.

Popular

Volcano erupts in North Sulawesi, hundreds evacuated

Dubai roads, airport reel from floods after record rains

Ramadan boosts consumer confidence, retail sales