Indonesia's Double Win

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Indonesia can be proud of the report from Fuzhou, China, two weeks ago. Indonesian badminton athletes grabbed two top titles in the China Open Super Series Premier 2016. Men's doubles pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and mixed doubles pair Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir were triumphant in the foreign arena.

Kevin/Marcus appeared first in the badminton tournament held at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center, Fuzhou, on Sunday two weeks ago. Indonesia's second-ranked men's doubles pair managed to win two straight games over Denmark's men's doubles Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen, 21-18, 22-20.

This win was Kevin/Marcus's first champion title in this super series premier tournament. "It's our fourth title this year, after previously winning super series in the India Open, Australia Open and a grand prix title," said Marcus.

This victory compensated for the pair's loss to Boe/Mogensen last year in the Malaysia Open, where Kevin/Marcus lost to the Danish couple 22-20, 13-21 and 15-21.

Marcus admitted that the final round against Boe/Mogensen was quite a challenge. Kevin/Marcus had lead in the first set, but the fourth-seed Danes were able to catch up. The climactic moment occurred in the second set's fierce battle. Kevin/Marcus at first seemed to pick up their pace in order to finish the game quickly, nevertheless, they still gave Boe/Mogensen the chance to close in at 20-20. "We were tense at that moment, but fortunately we managed to overcome," said Kevin.

Apart from facing tough opponents, Kevin/Marcus were a bit rattled by the shuttlecocks, which they felt were rather unusual. Both had difficulty in attacking. "The key to victory was just to do the best we could. We had no idea what was going to happen, but it was important to be bold in the field," said Marcus.

Indonesia's second title was secured by Tontowi/Liliyana after defeating host favorite Zhang Nan/Li Yinhui in a three-set match, 21-13, 22-24, and 21-16. The Rio Olympics 2016 gold medalist won with ease in the first set and were only met with strong resistance in the second set. A poor start caused the Indonesia's top mixed doubles pair to lose the second set to Zhang/Li. Luckily, in the decisive set, Tontowi/Liliyana managed to open with a five-point lead.

Liliyana said patience was the key to winning the match. According to the 31-year-old, patience is crucial when facing very experienced opponents, such as Zhang/Li. "After the Olympics victory, we performed with greater self-confidence," said Liliyana.

Tontowi had been worried by the less than ideal preparations before the tournament. "But we were determined to give our best performance," he said.

With the victory of the men's and mixed doubles, Indonesia dominated this year's China Open tournament. China, on the other hand, failed to earn any title.

Indra Wijaya

China Open Results

Men's Singles:
Jan Ostergaard Jorgensen (Denmark)

Women's Singles:
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (India)

Men's Doubles:
Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (Indonesia)

Women's Doubles:
Chang Ye-na/Lee So-hee (South Korea)

Mixed Doubles:
Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (Indonesia)