Wednesday, December 14, 2011 11:27 AM
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JAKARTA: Indonesia’s mixed doubles duo, Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, received a pleasant surprise at the Macau Open on Saturday.
Fresh from winning their semifinal against Thailand’s Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam, with a final score of 21-17, 21-11, Tontowi and Liliyana were informed that their opponents for Sunday’s final — Chen Hung Ling and Cheng Wen Hsing — had withdrawn due to an injury, as reported on the official website of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Saturday.
The Taipei pair, the surprise winners of the Yonex Open Japan Superseries last month, booked their tickets to the final by beating Indonesians Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto 18-21, 21-14, 21-14.
Their unfortunate decision to withdraw means world that the No. 4 pair of Tontowi and Liliyana will take home the mixed doubles crown. It is their fourth Open title and fifth overall title of the year, having won the SEA Games gold medal last month.
The Indonesian pair, who joined forces in 2010, made waves earlier this year when they won three tournaments back-to-back and shot up the world rankings.
They first made their mark at the India Open, claiming their first BWF World Superseries title as partners. They then continued on to win the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold and the Singapore Open Superseries. They lost the final of the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier to world champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei of China. That was their last final before the SEA Games last month.
They appear to be coming back into form, which will certainly liven up the BWF World Superseries Finals, to be held in Liu Zhou, China, from Dec. 14-18, where the best eight pairs in the world will commence battle for the prestigious title.
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