SHAH ALAM: Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir ended a six-year Indonesian wait to win the mixed doubles crown in the Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open Superseries Premier at the Malawati Stadium here today. The duo won a massive battle against Malaysian pair, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, to claim the prestigious Superseries Premier title.
Despite being up against a confident Peng Soon and Lui Ying, who had stunned top seed Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei from China yesterday, Tontowi and Liliyana played their own and were rewarded with a memorable victory in front of a huge Malaysian crowd.
Having led 13-6 at one point in the first set, Peng Soon-Liu Ying fought back to level the score 13 all before Tontowi and Liliyana were stretched the distance to win 23-21.
Buoyed by more than 10,000 fans at the stands, Peng Soon-Liu Ying fought back in the second set to take a 21-13 victory and force the game into the decider.
The fans were on the edge of their seats as the battle continued. In the end, Tontowi and Liliyana held their nerves to grab the decider 21-16 and snatch the mixed doubles crown from their hosts, who were hoping to end a 53-year-long wait to win the event. The last winners were Tan Aik Huang-Teoh Siew Yong who won in 1963.
Meanwhile, a delighted Liliyana said: “Peng Soon and Liu Ying played very well. It has been quite some time since we won a Superseries event which was back in 2014 (French Open)."
“The win has definitely given us a renewed sense of confidence. For sure, it will give us further motivation to make the cut for the Rio Olympics later this year.”
The last time Indonesia won the mixed doubles title was in 2009 through Nova Widianto-Liliyana Natsir who beat South Koreans Lee Yong Dae-Lee Hyo Jung at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
