T

he Indonesian contingent to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships in London brought back only bronze medals, but said their confidence had been boosted and they were beginning preparations for the 2012 Olympics.

Crumbling under pressure in their semifinal, the country’s most promising medal hopefuls, mixed doubles pair Liliyana Natsir and Tontowi Ahmad lost in straight sets 16-21, 19-21 on Saturday to unseeded home favorites Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier. World No. 18 pair Adcock and Bankier led throughout the match, allowing the Indonesians no room to challenge their dominance.

“We were too rushed in our attacks, they could read us,” Liliyana said.

Adcock and Bankier, seeking to follow in the footsteps of 2006 world champion Britons Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, face world No. 1 mixed doubles pair Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei from China in Sunday’s final.

Lilyana and Tontowi, playing as partners for the first time in this tournament, had to settle for bronze. Another Indonesian pair who won bronze was men’s doubles duo
M. Ahsan and Bona Septano, who lost 19-21, 17-21 to world No. 5 South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun and Yoo
Yeon-seong.

“I can see significant technical improvements from Bona and Ahsan since their appearance at the All England Open [in March]. They were much stronger against higher-ranked opposition. They still need to improve several aspects, though, such as strengthening their defensive play,” national men’s doubles coach Herry IP told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

In their road to the semifinal, Ahsan and Bona upset world number two Danish pair Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen and higher ranked Chinese pair Chai Biao and Guo Zhendong, all of whom had never lost before to the Indonesians.

“Being able to come this far will boost their confidence for sure,” Herry said. Bona and Ahsan, who improve their world ranking to seven, missed the world championships last year and only made it to the second round in 2009.

“I was not 100 percent fit at the start of the tournament. I realize my condition should not be an excuse. Indeed, the Koreans played much better. We will train harder,” Ahsan was quoted as saying on the the
Indonesian Badminton Association’s (PBSI) website.

In Sunday’s finals, world No. 2 Lin Dan of China grabbed his fourth world champ title in men’s singles after ousting world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in a rubber 20-22, 21-14, 23-21.

Earlier, world No. 1 pair Wang Xiao Li and Yu Yang grabbed the women’s doubles title after ousting compatriots Tian Qing and Zhao Yun Lei 22-20, 21-11.

As of press time, World No. 2 women’s singles player Wang Yihan was facing world No. 8 Cheng Shao-Chieh from Taiwan in the final.

Later in the day, world No. 1 Yun Cai and Haifeng Fu of China were scheduled to fight world No. 3 Sung Hyun Ko and Yeon Seong Yoo of South Korea in men’s doubles; while world No. 1 Nan Zhang and Yunlei Zao of China were set to take on non-seeded Briton Chris Adcock and Scottish Imogen Bankier in mixed doubles.