Badminton legend Tontowi Ahmad admits that Indonesia’s mixed doubles are currently underdeveloped

– Indonesian badminton legend, mixed doubles specialist, Tontowi Ahmad highlighted the current condition of the Indonesian badminton national team, which is considered to be lagging behind the world’s elite players. In the tight competition with top players, Tontowi believes that Indonesian badminton players need to maximize every match.

This statement was made by Tontowi Ahmad when he was a member of the PB Djarum 2023 public audition talent search team at the Djarum Sports Hall, Jati, Kudus on Wednesday (5/7/2023). According to him, Indonesian badminton players are still lagging behind compared to other teams such as China and Japan.

“When you look at it, we are still a bit behind the elites such as from China and also Japan, Thailand. However, it is possible to beat them,” said Owi, as the former badminton partner Liliyana Natsir is usually called.

Tontowi Ahmad, who once made Indonesia proud at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics by winning mixed doubles gold, gave a message to Indonesian mixed doubles athletes not to focus too much on the target of playing at the Olympics. However, they are asked to maximize the results in each game.

“It’s true that every athlete’s target is the Olympics, so they need to collect points for the Olympics. However, my message is not to focus too much on the Olympics first. They should focus on one match at a time and maximize their results,” said the former athlete who was born in Banyumas on July 18, 1987.

Tontowi Ahmad mentioned several mixed doubles names in Indonesia who have the potential to develop and be able to compete with world elite badminton players, such as Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti, and Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.

He emphasized that these players must be able to compete in every match with the top mixed doubles players, including their national team mates who are competitors on the field during the tournament. Maximizing every match is the message conveyed by Tontowi Ahmad.

“They compete against each other, so my message to them is don’t want to lose every tournament and don’t think too much about the Olympic target. My experience was almost the same, accumulating points gradually, but I already have the capital. For example, being in a certain ranking and I have met everyone,” said the badminton player who retired in May 2020.

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