Defeated By Chinese Pair, Ahsan/Hendra: We're Not Done Yet

JAKARTA - Indonesian men's doubles, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan are determined to bring home a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after hopes for gold were dashed.

They were eliminated in the semi-finals on Friday, 30 July. The Daddies, his second nickname, emphasized that he did not want to be lost in sadness and would focus on the bronze medal match against Malaysia's men's doubles. "Our struggle is not over, we will try our best to win the bronze medal," Hendra said in a written statement from PBSI, Saturday , July 31. "For the people of Indonesia, please pray and support for the match later," said Ahsan added.

In the bronze medal match on Saturday, at 17.20 WIB, Hendra/Ahsan will meet Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik again. Previously they had met in the group stage. At that time The Daddies, the world's second ranked men's doubles, won 21-16, 21-19. Chia/Soh ran aground in the last four after being defeated by representatives of China, Li Jun Hui/Liu Yu Chen in two straight games 22-24, 13-21. . While Hendra/Ahsan lost to the Taiwanese pair, Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin 11-21, 10-21. Hendra/Ahsan admitted that Lee/Wang's performance was in the best form. Before defeating The Daddies, the world number three pair defeated another Indonesian mainstay, namely Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon in the group stage. In the quarter-finals they also eliminated representatives from the hosts Yuta Watanabe/Hiroyuki Endo. "It must be admitted that the opponent played very well, was very strong and kept pressing us," said Ahsan.