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Hendra, Ahsan Indonesia's 1st champions in BWF Finals
Super champs: Mohammad Ahsan (right) and Hendra Setiawan celebrate their victory over Kim Ki-jung and Kim Sa-rang of South Korea during their menâs doubles final at the BWF World Super Series Finals in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday
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span class="inline inline-center">Super champs: Mohammad Ahsan (right) and Hendra Setiawan celebrate their victory over Kim Ki-jung and Kim Sa-rang of South Korea during their men's doubles final at the BWF World Super Series Finals in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. AFP/Mohd Rasfan
Indonesia succeeded in winning a title at the BWF World Super Series Finals for the first time since the event was first held in 2008 after Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan triumphed in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Hendra/Ahsan brought home the men's doubles crown after defeating Kim Ki-jung/Kim Sa-rang of South Korea 21-14, 21-16 in the final.
Hendra and Ahsan showed fine teamwork throughout the match to relentlessly apply pressure on the Malaysian Open 2013 champions in an almost flawless display, apart from when Ahsan twice failed to cross the shuttlecock when leading 20-14 in the second game, a media release said.
Hendra's crossed smash ended the Korean's resilience.
'We did not expect to win it easily. They did not seem in their best form. We know their game because we have met them before,' Hendra said.
The lopsided final match aside, world champions Hendra/Ahsan had performed convincingly leading up to Sunday's match. They only lost two games in the competition, which they conceded during a dead-rubber game in Group B. Apart from that, they needed only two games in winning the other four matches.
The BWF Super Series Finals is an annual tournament held at the end of the year, which features the top eight players in the world.
It could have commenced as early as 2007 but was canceled due to a lack of sponsors.
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'This tournament is only attended by the world's eight top pairs. As it proves, the world's best pair currently is Hendra/Ahsan.'
In Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia also had a shot at the men's singles title but Tommy Sugiarto proved no match for world number one Lee Ching Wei. The Indonesian player lost 10-21, 12-21 in the final.
Chong Wei's success is Malaysia's eighth title since 2008, equaling Denmark's total. China still has the most winners with 11. South Korea also managed to claim a Finals title in 2009 courtesy of men's doubles pair Lee Yong-dae/Jung Jae-sung.
Indonesian coach Aryono Miranat lauded his doubles pair's achievement, saying that Hendra/Ahsan proved their worth.
'This tournament is only attended by the world's eight top pairs. As it proves, the world's best pair currently is Hendra/Ahsan,' he said.
Meanwhile, Sunday's match was Tommy's eighth loss to the Malaysian in as many matches.
Tommy complained about fatigue after he had been stretched to three games in the last two matches ahead of the final.
Denmark took two titles in the women's and mixed doubles through Christina Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christina Pedersen respectively.
Pedersen/Juhl defeated Ma Jin/Tang Jinhua of China 21-19, 21-12. Pedersen then teamed up with Nielsen to overcome Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei of China 12-21, 21-19, 21-10. China prevailed in the women's singles with Li Xuerui edging out Tsu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei 21-8, 21-14.
