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Tontowi/Liliyana pass first obstacle at Indonesia Open
Doing the Danes: Tontowi Ahmad (left) high-fives his partner Liliyana Natsir in their match against Mads Pieler Kolding and Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark on Tuesday
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Doing the Danes: Tontowi Ahmad (left) high-fives his partner Liliyana Natsir in their match against Mads Pieler Kolding and Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark on Tuesday. The Indonesian pair advanced to second round. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama) (left) high-fives his partner Liliyana Natsir in their match against Mads Pieler Kolding and Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark on Tuesday. The Indonesian pair advanced to second round. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
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span class="inline inline-none">Doing the Danes: Tontowi Ahmad (left) high-fives his partner Liliyana Natsir in their match against Mads Pieler Kolding and Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark on Tuesday. The Indonesian pair advanced to second round. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
The second day of the US$700 Djarum Indonesia Open badminton championship on Tuesday saw Indonesia's top mixed pair of Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir pass a fierce test before the players were treated to a welcome dinner party later in the day.
The two-time All England mixed doubles champions fought back from a game down to win the remaining two games 20-22, 21-15, 21-17 over Danish Mads Pieler Kolding/ Kamilla Rhytter Juhl.
Liliyana said they were still adjusting to the court, hence early jitters.
'They are good players and this is our first match in this year's event'.
In the next game, the second seeds found their rhythm and started to attack their opponents, who have only been playing together for a year.
'We lost to a really good Indonesian pair, but I think we gave them a good fight today. I think it's one of our best matches in a really long time,' Juhl said after the match.
'We are disappointed but we are still positive. We've been struggling for a long time but we have begun to get our game together,' she said.
Tontowi and Liliyana worry that playing at home might be both a plus and a minus.
'The supporters are getting more passionate. It's quite a burden knowing how they put their hopes on us, but it can also motivate us,' Liliyana said.
Four other Indonesian mixed doubles pairs also advanced to the second round.
Markis Kido/Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth won 21-18, 21-13 over South Korea's Ko Sung-hyun/Kim Ha-na; Riky Widianto/Puspita Richi Dili defeated Hong Kong's Chan Yun Lung/Ying Suet Tse 21-5, 16-21, 21-15.
Eighth seeds Muhammad Rijal/Debby Susanto breezed past Japan's Takeshi Kamura/Koharu Yonemoto 22-20, 21-15, while Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati won 22-24, 21-16, 21-11 over Germany's Michael Fuchs/Birgit Michels.
However, Lukhi Apri Nugroho/Annisa Saufika went down to England's Chris Adcock/Gabrielle White 21-12, 21-14.
Tontowi/Liliyana will play compatriots Fran/Shendy in the second round. Rijal/Debby face England's Langridge/Oliver who defeated Danes Kristiansen/Houmann 21-19, 14-21, 23-21 in the first round.
Riky/Puspita were scheduled to face defending champions Prapakamol/Thoungthongkam of Thailand but Thoungthongkam's forced the Thai pair to withdrawn, and they will now play Ivanov/Chervaykova in the second round.
The Russian pair eased past Chalardchaleam/Kittiharakul, also of Thailand 21-17, 21-16.
Later in the afternoon, players gathered at the Golden Ballroom of Hotel Sultan for a welcome dinner party, hosted by Gita Wirjawan, the chairman of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI).
The gala dinner was attended by a number of players including Taufik Hidayat, Belaetrix Manuputty and Melati Daeva Oktaviani. Taufik, whose glittering career includes a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, is making the Djarum his last tournament before retirement.
Among the other guests were Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo and former Indonesian stars like Christian Hadinata, Lius Pongoh and Ricky Subagdja.
The second round of the mixed doubles will be played on Thursday.
Wednesday will see the first round matches in the men's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles.
