Liliyana Natsir and Tontowi Ahmad
(pictured left) carried across their form from the previous round, as
they blew away Zhang / Zhao of China 21-13 21-17 to prevent a fourth
Chinese title of the day and earned their second straight All England mixed doubles title.
By Michael Burke, Badzine Correspondent, live from Birmingham. Photos: Yohan Nonotte for Badmintonphoto (live).
Indonesians Natsir / Ahmad were just too good for Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei
(pictured below). Their defence was a level above the Chinese pair, who
could not themselves return Ahmad’s destructive smash. A brisk first
game ended 21-13 as the Chinese looked short on ideas to counter the
defending champions.
The second game saw the Indonesians now
relaxed, able to play for the lines, with Ahmad’s smash and Natsir’s net
play near fault-less as they went into the mid game interval with an
11-7 lead.
Zhang / Zhao fought well to keep the gap
small for a while, but an inspired Ahmad / Natsir walked the game
towards the end, taking the second 21-17.
The Chinese spoke after to say: “We are a
bit disappointed but it makes no real difference whether we won or
lost. We got experience and will learn from our mistakes. It has been a
good day overall for China.”
Liliyana Natsir said of the game, “Today
we played very well and they made mistakes. We tried to push hard early
to pressure them and our tactics worked. We tried to keep calm and play
slowly at the key points, and just focus on the court.”
Next up for them is the World
Championships: “I hope we keep improving so that we can win at our next
big tournament, the World Championships.”
If you are coming for the All England
Championships, or whenever you visit Birmingham, try Badzine’s partner
hotel, the City Nites Apartments. Offering fully serviced apartments, it
is a stylish setting for long or short-term business people and
visitors, and a great place to stay during the All England Championships.
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