Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir bring first All England Open title in Mixed Doubles category
Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir became the first Indonesian shuttlers who brought home the first ever All England Open title for Indonesia in Mixed Doubles category.
In the title match, the World Number Four Indonesians proved too strong for Denmark’s Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl on Sunday, March 11, in England.
It was the biggest victory in the professional career of Tontowi who put up superb show of top quality badminton throughout the tournament along with her experienced partner Liliyana.
They ended Indonesia’s nine-year title draught at All England Open as last title in this prestigious championship came in 2003. This victory has increased the hopes of Indonesia to win a gold medal in Olympic Games.
Tontowi, who has been looking for a major title in the current year before London Olympics, has finally got it.
Tontowi and Liliyana are quite confident to continue their winning run in the upcoming tournaments and also deliver the same performance in Olympic Games.
After winning the match, Tontowi said that it was unbelievable for him to win the All England Open.
Nevertheless, he also told that the main focus will remain to win the gold medal in Olympic Games.
He said, “Honestly, I still can’t believe that I’ve won the All England. This is like the biggest tournament in the world. However, it’s not the end of our journey. The main target this year is still the Olympic gold medal and we’ll fight for that.”
While talking about the performance of Tontowi, the national coach Richard Mainaky said that he had already realised a wonderful potential in the shutter.
The coach said, “He just needed the right partner and he found it in Liliyana. She’s become a good mentor for him and they have become a great partnership. I hope more [titles] will come from them.”
Tontowi and Liliyana have proved their worth at international arena and they have found a good rhythm at the right time because the qualification period for Olympic Games is in progress.
In order to get a good seeding in Olympic Games, Tontowi and Liliyana are determined to remain consistent in the upcoming events.
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