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Indonesia’s Ahsan, Hendra nail BWF World Championships hat-trick
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Indonesian shuttlers Hendra Setiawan (left) and Mohammad Ahsan celebrate winning their third BWF World Championships title in men's doubles in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday. (PBSI/PBSI)
I
ndonesia’s veteran men’s doubles pair Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan nailed its third World Championships title on Sunday after beating Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 25-23, 9-21, 21-15 at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.
“We are very grateful for this victory. May this be a good sign for us for our future matches,” Ahsan said as quoted by badmintonindonesia.org.
The pair previously won the title in 2015 and 2013.
For Hendra, it was his fourth title at the tournament, which he first won with former partner Markis Kido in 2007. The achievement puts Hendra on-par with China’s Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, who also have collected four world titles (2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011). With Markis, Hendra bagged the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal after beating Cai and Fu in the final.
Sunday’s victory was the second for the Indonesians against the Japanese, after the 2019 Indonesia Open victory last month.
“This year has brought us two sweet victories, the All England and now this. I hope we can use the momentum to work harder for the next championship,” Hendra said, referring to the world’s oldest badminton tournament.
Hendra said he saw much improvement in their opponents’ gameplay and strategy, which was why the Indonesians lost the second game.
The third game gave the Indonesians the chance to bounce back as their opponents started to slow down.
