TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Tontowi/Liliyana eyes 4th title in a row
Gearing up: Indonesian mixed doubles pair Riky Widianto/Richi Puspita Dili tries out the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham late on Monday, ahead of the 2015 Yonex All England badminton championships beginning Wednesday
Change Size
Gearing up: Indonesian mixed doubles pair Riky Widianto/Richi Puspita Dili tries out the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham late on Monday, ahead of the 2015 Yonex All England badminton championships beginning Wednesday. (Courtesy of PBSI) (Courtesy of PBSI)
G
span class="inline inline-center">Gearing up: Indonesian mixed doubles pair Riky Widianto/Richi Puspita Dili tries out the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham late on Monday, ahead of the 2015 Yonex All England badminton championships beginning Wednesday. (Courtesy of PBSI)
Three-time champion pairing Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir is looking to add a fourth victory when they take to the Barclaycard Arena court in Birmingham to defend their mixed doubles All England title at the world's oldest badminton tournament, beginning Wednesday.
Indonesia also has title hopes for doubles champions Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan.
'We are placing a lot of hope in our forefront players in the mixed doubles and men's doubles events to defend their titles,' Rexy Mainaky, head of development and achievement at the Indonesia Badminton Association (PBSI), said on the sidelines of a badminton discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He expressed optimism about the country's chances in the events, in which the contenders, he said, were already familiar with each other's strengths.
'It's only a matter of the mentality and perseverance of the athletes as there are no new players emerging in the two events,' Rexy explained.
Thirty-four Indonesian shuttlers will compete in the US$500,000 tournament in all five events.
'We are hoping to get the fourth, fifth and more titles [from the tournament]. Hopefully we'll remain in our best condition and maintain our focus and concentration during the tournament,' Liliyana said in a media release.
Indonesia has added some new names to its All England line up this year, including some players who trained outside of PBSI's national training camp in Cipayung, East Jakarta.
The non-camp players include women's single player Millicent Wiranto, who trains with the Malaysian-based Kawasaki Badminton Club. She was a member of the national camp in 2012.
In the men's doubles there are Markis Kido/Agrippina Primarahmanto Putera from Jaya Raya Jakarta and Andrei Adistia/Hendra Aprida Gunawan from Sangkuriang Graha Sarana Elektrik Bandung.
In the women's doubles, the little-known Dian Firtriani/Nadya Melati are competing members of clubs Jaya Raya and Pertamina Indonesia, respectively, while veteran players Pia Zebadiah Bernadet/Rizki Amelia Pradipta are also from Jaya Raya.
Angrippina will team up with Rizki in the mixed doubles, while Pia will play alongside long-time sibling partner Markis Kido.
The tournament will also see the debut of young pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
'It will be fun partnering with Kevin because he is younger [than me]. This will be our debut and we hope that we can give our best shot at the tournament,' said Gideon.
Elsewhere, China's Lin Dan will launch his bid to become the fourth male singles player to win six All England badminton titles.
Lin Dan will return to the tournament for the first time since 2012, when he captured his fifth All England title, according to Reuters.
Another triumph for the 31-year-old world number six would put him alongside former champions Frank Devlin of Ireland, Denmark's Erland Kops and Indonesian Rudy Hartono.
One of the competitors standing in fifth-seeded Lin's way is compatriot Chen Long, the world champion who won the All England crown in 2013.
Chen, the top seed, plays a qualifier in his opening match while Lin faces Hong Kong's Wei Nan.
Defending champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia will be missing, as he is serving a ban after failing a doping test at the world championships in August.
