Tantowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir determined to win title at the World Championships – Badminton News
Indonesian Mixed Doubles top seeds and World Number Two, Tantowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir, are determined to win the title at the Badminton World Championships 2011, which will take place in London, from August 8-14.
The Indonesian couple lost to China’s top seeds and World Number One duo of Zhao Yunlei and Zhang Nan of China in the final of the Indonesia Open Premier Super Series 2011, on Sunday, June 26.
However, the duo is optimistic for a better performance in the upcoming world meet, which will be the first participation of the newly formed pair. Lilyana has already won the title in the World Championships on two occasions with her former partner, Nova
Widianto.
The 25-year-old Lilyana is still passionate to win her third title in the upcoming world meet. She said, “I want my third world title and I hope to achieve it with [Tantowi].”
While talking about her partner’s performance, Lilyana expressed that Tantowi, who is 23 years of age, does not need many changes in his game. However, she added that he needs a little improvement in dealing with pressure.
Lilyana said, “Tantowi is a good player with all the great skills necessary for a doubles shuttler. But as a young player, sometimes he just can’t deal with the pressure on the court. I need to maintain his fighting spirit, especially after the [Indonesia
Open] loss, as a preparation for the worlds.”
Former partner of Lilyana, Nova, said that he is happy with the new formation of Lilyana with Tantowi, as both are really doing a good job. He added that the pair is playing well and has established their worth among top athletes in the world of badminton.
Nova said, “They are now regarded as the newest threat at the international level, and I see that they have the potential to be the world’s best.”
Since the 2007 World Championships, no Indonesian shuttler has won the title in any category of the game. The upcoming event is a great opportunity for Lilyana and Tantowi to raise the Indonesian flag in London and win the title for their country.
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