Rio de Janeiro: Rio Olympic Badminton saw the completion of one of its five medal events on Wednesday. In the Mixed Doubles finals, Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir have taken gold against Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia.
In the one-sided final, the Malaysia pair simply did not have answer to the powerful smashes from Tontowi Ahmad. The Indonesians won the first set over the Malaysians 21-14. Ahmad/Natsir comfortably completed the victory against Chan/Goh with a 21-12 triumph in the second set.
The mixed doubles gold medal gave Indonesia their maiden triumph in the event and their seventh Olympic badminton title after Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan claimed the men’s doubles crown at Beijing 2008.
“I feel speechless. I cannot say anything. I’m overwhelmed,” said an elated Tontowi.
After the match, Ahmad and Natsir have dedicated their mixed doubles Olympic gold as a gift for their country’s Independence Day celebration.
“The supporters were amazing because today is also Indonesia’s Independence Day, so this is our gift to Indonesia.”
In the mixed doubles bronze medal match, defending champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei defeated fellow countrymen Xu Chen and Ma Jin 21-7, 21-11 to claim the bronze medal at Riocentro on Tuesday night.
