Used To Fight For The Cup, Now The Name Is Owi, Butet, Maria, Sigit Abadi In The Superliga Junior Trophy

KUDUS The four Indonesian badminton legends shared their pride after their name was immortalized as a trophy at the Polytron Superliga Junior 2025 which took place at GOR Djarum, Kudus, September 15, 2025.

The four legends are Tontowi Ahmad, Liliyana Natsir, Sigit Budiarto, and Maria Kristin Yulianti.

Their names are used as titles for the four new categories competed this year: the Tontowi Ahmad Cup (U-13 men), the Liliyana Natsir Cup (U-13 women), the Sigit Budiarto Cup (U-15 men), and the Maria Kristin Yulianti Cup (U-15 women).

"I don't believe it, I used to fight for trophies, suddenly my name is there," said Tontowi Ahmad, a former world champion and gold winner at the 2016 Olympics in Kudus, Antara, Sunday, September 21.

Owi, as he is familiarly called, hopes that the naming of this trophy can be a motivation for young athletes.

"Hopefully we can appreciate the children, it can be a motivation for the children to achieve like the figure of the trophy they are fighting for," he added.

Liliyana Natsir also admitted that she was surprised when she was first given her name as the trophy title.

"I was also surprised, suddenly there was the Liliyana Natsir Cup. Hopefully with this trophy, I will know which Liliyana Natsir, what achievement, oh Maria Kristin which one," said Butet, Liliyana's nickname.

He considered this respect important to reintroduce Indonesia's badminton history to young players.

Maria Kristin Yulianti, the bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, also feels proud. He hopes that the presence of a trophy that carries the name of a legend will have a positive impact on the experience of competing young athletes.

"The first time I was told, I would be surprised. I'm proud too. The hope is that they will be more experienced to play in the team," said Maria.

Sigit Budiarto said that the naming of this trophy was not only a form of appreciation, but also a symbol of respect for former athletes.

"As soon as he was told the name he wanted to be the name of the trophy, he was surprised and grateful that there was also an appreciation given to us, former athletes. Proud and didn't expect it either," he said.

Previously, this tournament had used the names of Indonesian badminton legends for more senior categories, such as Susy Susanti (women's U-19), Liem Swie King (men's U-19), Hariyanto Arbi (men's U-17), and Yuni Kartika (women's U-17).