Doubles delight for Indonesian shuttlers

AFP, RIO DE JANEIRO: Indonesian shuttlers Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir said their badminton mixed doubles Olympic gold at the Rio Games was a “gift” to their country on its independence day Wednesday.
The pair comfortably defeated Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia 2-0 to top the podium and claim the first badminton gold medal of the 2016 Olympics.
Ahmad and Natsir took the first game 21-14 before completing the victory with a 21-12 triumph in the second, delighting a noisy contingent of Indonesian fans who chanted their country’s name throughout.
“The supporters were amazing. Today is also Indonesia’s independence day so this is our gift to Indonesia,” a joyous Ahmad told reporters as he played with the gold medal hanging around his neck.
The Indonesian couple had stunned top seeds and defending champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei of China in the semis and brought their sensational form into the final, dominating from the outset.
Their victory never looked in doubt as they won both games with relative ease due to an array of excellent shot-making and some unenforced errors from the Malaysian couple.

Doubles delight for Indonesian shuttlers

AFP, RIO DE JANEIRO: Indonesian shuttlers Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir said their badminton mixed doubles Olympic gold at the Rio Games was a gift to their country on its independence day Wednesday. The pair comfortably defeated Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia 2-0 to top the podium and claim the first badminton gold medal of the 2016 Olympics. Ahmad and Natsir took the first game 21-14 before completing the victory with a 21-12 triumph in the second, delighting a noisy contingent of Indonesian fans who chanted their countrys name throughout. The supporters were amazing. Today is also Indonesias independence day so this is our gift to Indonesia, a joyous Ahmad told reporters as he played with the gold medal hanging around his neck. The Indonesian couple had stunned top seeds and defending champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei of China in the semis and brought their sensational form into the final, dominating from the outset. Their victory never looked in doubt as they won both games with relative ease due to an array of excellent shot-making and some unenforced errors from the Malaysian couple.