Benno Natsir, the proud and happy father of Rio Olympics gold medalist Liliyana Natsir, has found his home in Manado, North Sulawesi, flooded with guests keen to congratulate and praise him for the excellence of his daughter.

But not only that.

Some of the guests, most of whom hail from around the Teling Atas subdistrict of Wenang district, visited Benno’s residence bearing Red-and-White flags, while singing the country’s national anthem, “Indonesia Raya”.

“[The guests] wanted to congratulate us as Liliyana’s parents because she just won a gold medal in Rio,” Benno said over the weekend.

Liliyana and her mixed doubles partner Tontowi Ahmad won gold by beating Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying in a straight game on Aug. 17, coinciding with the celebrations of Indonesian Independence Day.

The mixed doubles’ medal was the only gold for Indonesia at this iteration of the Olympics.

After the visit, crowds took to the main streets of Manado to express their joy.

Benno revealed he and his wife had prayed continually while watching the final showdown at home.

“The best thing we could do was just pray. Nevertheless, we always believe in [Liliyana]. We knew that she could bring home the gold because she had been so focused,” he added.

Benno recalled that Liliyana immediately phoned her mother after the medal presentation and interview sessions.

“Butet [Liliyana’s nickname] did not talk much. She only expressed her gratitude to us for supporting her,” he added.

Olympian Liliyana indeed deserved the gold medal.

The 31-year-old shuttler started her badminton career at the age of 9 at a local club, Pisok.

Deciding to concentrate solely on the sport, Liliyana dropped out of school. Her highest educational background is elementary school, having attended Eben Haezar Manado school.

“She was so into badminton, she quit school just to achieve great things in the sport. That was why I placed her in Pisok club,” said the father, adding that Liliyana’s talent in badminton was manifest from an early age.

With the aim of expanding Liliyana’s career, Benno decided to take his daughter to Jakarta.

In the capital, Liliyana joined the Tangkas badminton club before eventually ending up at Djarum badminton club.

“It was at Djarum club that Liliyana started to develop her career by doing well in national and international competitions,” said Benno, who owns an automotive repair shop.

With all the hard work his daughter has done, the gold medal is a worthy paycheck for Liliyana, said Benno.

“[Liliyana] left school, she doesn’t really date or eat fancy dishes, and she even took extra sessions in her training regime [for Rio]. The gold medal is a fine trade,” he added.

Welcoming his beloved daughter home, Benno revealed he had prepared a fun celebration for Liliyana as he planned to serve the gold medalist’s favorite dish.

“She loves to eat roast pork,” he revealed.

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