Second seeds Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping of China upset top seeds Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia to win the mixed doubles gold medal in the Wuhan Automobile Badminton Asia Championships on Sunday.
In the final played at the Wuhan Sports Center in Wuhan the Chinese pair took advantage of a rather erratic and below par performance by the Indonesians for a 21-17, 21-17 win 43 minutes.
It was a disappointing for the Indonesians to settle for the silver for the second year running. They had also lost the final last after winning the Asian title in 2015.
With the win the Chinese pair stretched their lead to 3-1 in the head-to-head count. Tontowi-Liliyana also lost to this pair in the World Superseries Finals in Dubai last year.
“We could not produce the form like we did in the semi-finals. I must admit that it was below par performance from us today,” said Tontowi, who was the target of the Chinese pair.
“I had a poor game. We never got going midway in the first game. Our rhythm was not there and the more we tried the more mistakes we made and our confidence was affected.”
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In the semi-finals the Indonesians defeated fifth seeds Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong 21-11, 21-13 while Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping won 18-21, 21-18, 21-17 against compatriots Zhang Nan-Li Yinhui.
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Tontowi-Liliyana, who are Olympic champions, will now focus on the forthcoming Indonesia Open and the Asian Games which Indonesia will host in August.
“The Asian Games is our main target. I have never won the Asian Games gold and it is my target to get the elusive Asiad gold before I quit,” added Liliyana who announced that she will retire at the end of the year.Ā Ā
Yilyu expressed his happiness in winning the title after the defeat of Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong to the Indonesians in the semi-finals.
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“We were hoping for an all-China final but that did not happen. So to beat the Indonesian pair in the final is very satisfying,” said Yilyu.
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RESULTS (FINAL)
Mixed doubles
Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping (Chn) beat Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir (Ina) 21-17, 21-17
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