Aging is the biggest challenge for athletes looking to sustain their sporting careers, let alone securing trophies. However, a few have managed to defy that curse and march on to triumph.

Names like Roger Federer, Venus and Serena Williams, Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan are among the exceptions. Now, the badminton men’s doubles pair of Hendra Setiawan, 34, and Mohammad Ahsan, 31, have joined this line-up.

Both Hendra and Ahsan have proved that age is only a number. The pair recently won the prestigious All England title, their second trophy in the tournament that is considered the grand slam of badminton.

Known as “the Daddies” by their fans, the pair were not the favorites to grab the All England title for Indonesia as they had to compete with much younger pairs like their compatriots Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, who won the two previous editions of the tournament.

Coming in to the tournament as sixth seeds, the Daddies managed to dispel all lingering doubts about their capacity to take the top podium. The determination to keep winning more titles gave them the power break all boundaries.

“Our desire to win is still strong. We don’t want to just give up before the match is over,” Hendra said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Their journey to winning their second All England title, after winning it first in 2014, was not easy as they had to compete against top pairs like 2016 All England champions Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov of Russia and the third-seeded Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan.

Their All England campaign became much harder as Hendra suffered an injury during the semifinal match after executing a jump smash and landing badly.

Ahsan and Hendra started the 2019 season as professional players and retired from the national team even though they still trained at the national badminton camp in Cipayung, East Jakarta. So far this year they have recorded a good performance as they have won one title and were runners up in four tournaments.

“We are both still highly motivated to win more titles,” Hendra said, while hinting that he would probably play on for the next two or three years.

“Our target right now is qualifying for the Olympics [in 2020]. It will not be easy as the competition is very tight but we will do our best,” Ahsan added.

In order to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, not only must they compete with other opponents from outside the country but the Daddies will also have to take on their juniors for the spot. Each country is allowed to send only two representatives to the Olympics.

Currently Indonesia has three men’s doubles pairs in the world’s top 10. Kevin and Marcus reside at number one, while Ahsan and Hendra now stand at number four, followed by Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto at number eight.

Commenting on Ahsan and Hendra’s achievement, the eight-time All England champion Rudy Hartono said the Daddies were a good example for juniors as they proved age was no hindrance.

“To win the prestigious All England when you are already over 30 is not easy. That’s why you both are good examples for other Indonesian badminton players,” said Rudy, who is chairman of badminton club PB Jaya Raya.

Imelda Wigoena, who won the All England in 1979 with Christian Hadinata in the mixed doubles, echoed Rudy’s sentiment, saying that being able to compete at such an age like Ahsan and Hendra meant that both players were serious in maintaining their performance in their daily routine.

For their achievement in the All England, Ahsan’s and Hendra’s clubs, PB Djarum and PB Jaya Raya, respectively, showered the pair with bonuses, each receiving Rp 200 million (US$14,053) and Rp 25 million vouchers from the online booking service tiket.com.

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