PBSI Officially Appoints Nova Widianto to Train Mixed Doubles

JAKARTA - The Central Management of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PP PBSI) officially appointed Nova Widianto to fill the position of the new mixed doubles coach who was just left by Rionny Mainaky last week.

The certainty was conveyed by the national badminton parent through an official statement received by the media on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. This is the second time Nova will be in the mixed doubles sector of the PBSI National Team after 2021.

Head of Training and Achievement (Kabid Binpres) Pelatnas, Eng Hian, said that he was optimistic with Nova's experience and track record to bring the Indonesian mixed doubles sector back to competing at the highest level.

"Nova is a figure who has excellent experience and understanding in the doubles sector, both as an athlete and a coach," Eng Hian said in a statement received.

The issue involving Nova with the mixed doubles sector immediately emerged after PBSI made a firm decision on July 30, 2026 by ending Rionny's term as head coach and Amon Sunaryo as assistant coach.

Both names were shifted from their positions after an evaluation of key performance indicators (KPIs) that were judged to have not met expectations so that new steps were needed to boost the mixed doubles performance.

"We hope that his presence can bring new energy, improve coaching quality, strengthen the competitiveness of Indonesian mixed doubles pairs, and lead them to achieve the best achievements in various international tournaments," said Eng Hian.

Nova Widianto is one of the best mixed doubles players Indonesia has ever had while he was active as an athlete. He won the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, and presented the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the mixed doubles event with Liliyana Natsir.

After retiring as an athlete, Nova continued her career as a coach and contributed to producing pairs with achievements at the world level.

He also made history as the first coach to bring the Malaysian mixed doubles to the world championship in 2024 through his students Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei.