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‘Play with better focus’ key in round 3: Tontowi
Smooth round: Indonesian pair Tontowi Ahmad (left) and Liliyana Natsir compete in a mixed doubles match against Taiwan’s Tseng Ming Hao and Long Fang Hu at the 2017 BWF World Championship badminton tournament in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday
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span class="inline inline-center">Smooth round: Indonesian pair Tontowi Ahmad (left) and Liliyana Natsir compete in a mixed doubles match against Taiwan’s Tseng Ming Hao and Long Fang Hu at the 2017 BWF World Championship badminton tournament in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday. The Indonesians advanced to third round after winning 21-13, 21-11.(Courtesy of Badminton Photo)
Despite winning the opening match of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, in a rather smooth play on Tuesday, Indonesian mixed-double pair Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir still feel the need to sharpen their focus in the third round.
The 2013 world champions defeated Taiwan’s Tseng Ming Hao and Long Fang Hu at 21-13, 21-11 in Tuesday’s match — a neat opener to their second title campaign.
Former world number one pair, currently world number three, Tontowi and Liliyana are set to face Ireland’s Sam Magee and Chloe Magee in the third round. The 2016 Olympic Games gold medalists are aware that they will be under extra pressure from the crowd, which is expected to support the Irish pair, at the Emirates Arena.
“We understand that [the Irish pair] will be cheered by the crowd — it’s [near] their home. But, again, we’re experienced with this kind of situation as we often play in the All England and Denmark Open. [The home crowd] will not affect us,” Tontowi was quoted as saying by badmintonindonesia.org.
To counter such a challenge, Liliyana said: “We just need to play with a better focus, and stay calm on court.”
In Tuesday’s match Tontowi and Liliyana showed their class, pressing their opponents — world number 37 — before eventually wrapping up victoriously.
“We’re grateful for the win. The Taiwanese did not play poorly. We just managed to dominate them, leaving them without room to grow,” said Tontowi.
Indonesia’s second-ranking pair Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto were also successful in their opening round, beating compatriots Lukhi Apri Nugroho and Ririn Amelia, 21-13, 21-11.
Debby said she did not look down on her opponents, despite the fact that they were their juniors at the national training camp.
“Being focused was the only thing on our mind. We should not be reckless — just because [Lukhi and Ririn] are our friends,” she added.
The 2016 All England title holders Praveen and Debby are on a hunt to pick up the world title. In the next round, world number seven pair Praveen and Debby will face India’s Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki N Reddy. The two have never met before.
In the meantime, top contender Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei in the men’s singles had to give up the dream of winning his first world title after succumbing 21-19, 22-24, 21-17 to France’s Brice Leverdez.
Lee, finalist at every world championship and Olympics since 2011, displayed the infirmities of lesser mortals, looking nowhere near his high standard in the Glasgow defeat, according to bwfworldchampionships.com.
Lee maintained a brave face despite the enormity of the loss: “It’s okay. I tried my best. I didn’t play well; I made a lot of simple mistakes.”
