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Tontowi/Liliyana win Asian title, eye Olympics
Indonesiaâs mixed doubles favorites shuttlers Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir have once again proved their mettle after crushing Hong Kongâs Lee Chun Hei Reginald and Chau Hoi Wah 21-16, 21-15 at the 2015 Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan, China, on Sunday
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I
ndonesia's mixed doubles favorites shuttlers Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir have once again proved their mettle after crushing Hong Kong's Lee Chun Hei Reginald and Chau Hoi Wah 21-16, 21-15 at the 2015 Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan, China, on Sunday.
'We are glad to finally win after a rough period starting from the All England, Malaysia Open and Singapore Open. Hopefully this win can boost our confidence for future challenges,' Liliyana said in a statement.
The veteran duo maintained composure from the start of the game to wrap up to their advantage, pushing their head-to-head record to three to nothing.
The opponents previously faced one another at the 2013 BWF World Champions and the 2015 Singapore Open earlier this month.
'Advancing to the final is noteworthy. There were many good shuttlers that we needed to face to make it to the final,' said Chau Hoi Wah.
'Bringing home a title from this tournament has motivated us to be better. We are preparing for our next big goal, the Olympics,' said Tontowi.
He added that there were many tournaments that they needed to face ahead of the 2016 Olympics slated for Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Therefore, he said that they aimed to maintain their focus to reach their goal and win as many tournaments as they could.
Chairman of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) Gita Wirjawan expected Tontowi and Liliyana to stay consistent ahead of the Brazil Olympics.
Unfortunately, men's doubles heroes Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan were unable to follow suit against rivals Lee Young Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong of South Korea in a hard-fought final that ended 21-18, 22-24, 19-21.
'We gave our best, but this is just not our day,' said Ahsan.
'This is Lee/Yoo's day. At the Malaysia [Open] earlier this month, it was Hendra/Ahsan's day. It is like they are taking turns [to win]. Looking at their skills, they are equal,' said coach Herry Imam Pierngadi.
The two pair's head-to-head record is still led by the South Korean pair with five wins in eight encounters.
In women's singles, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand beat China's Li Xuerui 20-22, 23-21, 21-12, while Lin Dan of China did not break a sweat to defeat his compatriot Tian Houwei 21-19, 21-8 to add another men's singles title to his collection.
In women's doubles, which saw another all China final, Ma Jin and Tang Yuanting won easily against Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang 21-12, 21-12.
