It was a happy day for Indonesian shuttler Liliyana Natsir as she bade farewell to the Indonesia Open after defending the mixed doubles title with Tontowi Ahmad in Jakarta on Sunday.

The Indonesian pair dominated the match against Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying, winning 21-17, 21-8 in 38 minutes.

Joyous Liliyana and Tontowi said their second win broke a superstition that they could not be victorious at Istora Senayan.

“It was quite tense at the beginning, but we managed to apply our strategy,” Tontowi said after the match.

The victory meant a lot for Liliyana, as the 2016 Olympic gold medalist had announced she would retire by the end of this year.

With a big smile, the 32-year-old shuttler said she was deeply touched by the win.

“The victory means a great deal for me ahead of the upcoming Asian Games. It boosts our optimism, but we have to stay alert with our opponents,” she said.

Liliyana’s first Indonesia Open wasn’t with Tontowi. It was with Vita Marisa in the women’s doubles back in 2008.

“I will definitely miss the moment at Istora when the crowd was cheering ‘Owi, Butet’,” said the five-time world champion, referring to Tontowi’s nickname Owi and hers, Butet.

Ahead of the Games in August and September at home, Liliyana revealed that she and Tontowi would train in Kudus, Central Java, shortly after participating in the Singapore Open next week.

As Liliyana is retiring, the All England champion hoped her juniors would follow her successful path in the mixed doubles.

Back in the stadium, the party was far from ending as Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo added another win by trashing seventh seeds Takuta Inoue and Yuki Kaneko of Japan 21-13, 21-16 in just 31 minutes.

“Last week, we lost at the Malaysia Open. So, it’s really amazing to win here,” Marcus said.

In other matches, 2015 champion Kento Momota of Japan reclaimed the men’s singles title after defeating top-seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.

The Japanese player started the match with a convincing 11-1 lead before dominating the match 21-14, 21-9, with his Danish opponent making many unforced errors.

The victory was an important milestone for Momota after his comeback in 2017. He served a one-year ban for his involvement in casino gambling, which is illegal in Japan.

“The victory means so much to me before the World Championships and Asian Games,” said Momota.

Axelsen praised his opponent’s play, saying that Momota deserved the title.

In the women’s singles, 2016 champion Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan owned the 2018 title after outwitting fifth seed Chen Yufei of China.

Despite the win, Tai said she was not satisfied with her overall play as she made too many unforced errors.

Meanwhile, Chen said she was happy with her overall performance in Jakarta, despite losing the title. Chen said she managed to overpower big names such as Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, Indian Saina Nehwal and Korean Sung Ji Hyun on her route to the finals.

Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota won the women’s doubles title after beating compatriots Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara 21-14, 16-21, 21-14.

Off the pitch, the Indonesia Open offered more than matches to visitors, as there were also various food and shopping stalls as well as a gaming area and a newly added kids’ zone.

Visitor Siti Ayu, 30, was happy to find the kids’ zone as she came with her husband and their child. However, she suggested the organizers add more benches outside the stadium for visitors to rest.

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