The Tontowi-Liliyana duo had been the top mixed-doubles pair in the squad, clinching a gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and winning numerous international titles such as the 2017 World Championship in Scotland.

With both now retired, hopes are now pinned on Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti who won the All England mixed doubles title in March -- the last big badminton tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to suspend all competitions.

Praveen said the key to the All England victory was their performance in the quarterfinals when they managed to overcome the pressure when facing second seeds Wang Yi Lyu and Huang Dong Ping of China.

Having lost the first game, the chances of Praveen and Melati turning the situation around appeared slim. But they proved their skills, winning the match and advancing to the semifinal before eventually bringing the All England title home.

“I told Melati [during the quarterfinal] that it wasn’t over until it reached the 21^st point. We need that kind of spirit on the court, which eventually helped us secure the title,” Praveen said in a virtual press conference on Thursday.

For their accomplishment in the 2020 All England, the Djarum Badminton Club where Praveen and Melati started, showered them with bonuses through its Djarum Foundation Bakti Olahraga program, including Rp 200 million (US$14,271) in cash deposits.

Program director Yoppy Rosimin said Praveen's All England title was historic because he was the only Indonesian to win the tournament with two different partners. Praveen won the tournament in 2016 with his previous partner Debby Susanto.

“They have won All England titles. Now, their challenges are to win the [BWF] World Championships and the Olympics to match the accomplishments of their predecessors,” Yoppy said.

Now ranked fourth in the world, Praveen and Melati started to rise to the top last year when they won back-to-back titles at the Denmark Open and French Open.

But they still needed to work out their consistency and coordination on the court, Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) development and achievement department head Susy Susanti said.

Praveen said they did not regard the challenge as a burden so they could focus on improving their performance for the upcoming important tournaments, like the Tokyo Olympics next year.

“We know that the road [to the Olympics] is not easy. But we have a great desire to win,” he said. “I learned a lot from competing at the last Olympics [in 2016]. I have to control my ambition also because if it’s too much, it would backfire.”

In the 2016 Olympics, the Tontowi-Liliyana duo won gold in the mixed doubles, Praveen and his former partner Debby Susanto lost the quarterfinal, while Melati, at that time a junior shuttler, did not participate.

Praveen, Melati and other players in the PBSI’s national training camp in Cipayung are now practicing under a special program to maintain their fitness and tournament competitiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PBSI applies strict regulations in the camp to prevent the spread of the virus, including a prohibition on players returning home for the Idul Fitri holiday.

Badminton tournaments are expected to resume in September, with the Taiwan Open set to be the first major tournament.