Indonesian men’s doubles journey, Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan, at the 2019 Badminton World Championship keeps an interesting story. The senior couple won the title for the third time.
Specifically for Hendra, his achievements make him on par with the Indonesian badminton legend, Liliyana Natsir. Natsir is a four-time champion. Ahsan / Hendra ensured themselves as champions after defeating Japanese couple Takuro Hoki / Yugo Kobayashi with a score of 25-23, 9-21, 21-15.
Here are 5 facts of the victory of the pair nicknamed The Daddies in the 2019 Badminton World Championships which took place at St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland.
1. The seventh final during 2019
The gold medal in the Badminton World Championship this time continued their brilliant stratagems since the beginning of 2019. Until August 2019, Ahsan / Hendra had already played seven finals.
Their first final of the year took place at the 2019 Indonesia Masters tournament at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, mid-January. At that time, Ahsan / Hendra met with other Indonesian representatives, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon / Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
Unfortunately, the Daddies lost. Next, they enter 2019 All England final and come out as champions. Then the pair broke through the 2019 Singapore Open final but failed to win. In the next tournament, they returned to the top party and won the 2019 New Zealand Open.
The fifth final took place in their home country during the 2019 Indonesia Open tournament. At the top of the Super 1000 event, Ahsan / Hendra returned to meet Marcus / Kevin and again they lost.
One week later, Ahsan / Hendra met Marcus / Kevin again at the Japan Open final. Back, Ahsan / Hendra lost. Finally, The Daddies won the men’s doubles championship in the Badminton World Championship 2019.
2. The third title of the Badminton World Championship
As long as pairing, Ahsan / Hendra has won the competition three times. Before this final edition in Switzerland, the former world number one pair had won in 2013 and 2015.
The Daddies could also extend their record if they didn’t hang a racket in the near future. This is due to they hav entered 30s of age. However, consistency of the game can be the key to grab the title in the next competition.
3. Hendra equalize the record of Liliyana Natsir
Liliyana Natsir who retired from the world of badminton in early 2019, became the most successful Indonesian player in the Badminton World Championship. The mixed doubles specialist has won four times.
He won two titles with Tontowi Ahmad and two others with the senior, Nova Widianto. Now, Hendra is also equal to Liliyana because he has also won the champion podium four times. Of the four titles, he won three times with Ahsan and once with Markis Kido in 2007.
4. Playing on Hendra Setiawan’s birthday
Hendra celebrated his 35th birthday along with the final schedule of the 2019 Badminton World Championship, Sunday (8/25/2019). It was a motivation and a beautiful gift on his special day.
In the official website of Badminton Indonesia, Hendra expressed his feelings. “It’s great. It’s very rare right on D-day. Usually before or after. But there are many important championships in August,” Hendra said.
5. The Minions lost the first round
Throughout this year, Ahsan / Hendra met Marcus Fernaldi Gideon / Kevin Sanjaya three times in the final. Everything ends in defeat. The three meetings took place in the Indonesia Masters, Indonesia Open and Japan Open events.But at the 2019 Badminton World Championship, Marcus / Kevin had to lift their suitcases earlier because they lost to a South Korean couple, Choi Sol-Gyu / Seo Seung-jae. This makes the opportunity of Ahsan / Hendra to become a champion wide open. Moreover, the Daddies lined up as the world’s second ranked men’s doubles after the Minions.
