Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan Have Performed Maximally

JAKARTA - Indonesian men's doubles, Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan have not made it to the final of the badminton 2020 Tokyo Olympics after losing to representatives of Chinese Taipei, Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin, Friday, July 30. Playing at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, the second seed gave up Lee/Wang with a score of 10-21, 11-21.

Even though they didn't make it to the final, Ahsan/Hendra still have the potential to get a bronze medal. Saturday (31/07), “The Daddies” met Malaysian representatives Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik. The Iranian pair were also forced to admit the superiority of Chinese representatives Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen with a score of 22-24, 13-21 in the semifinals.

"Ahsan/Hendra have done their best, but it just so happened that they didn't get satisfactory results. And, we also watched the match very quickly. But yes, that's badminton. We hope they can donate a bronze medal in the match for a third place later", said Chef de Mission of the Indonesian Contingent Rosan P Roeslani to the NOC Indonesia Media Team, according to a written statement received by the editor.

Indonesian men's doubles, Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan. (Intermediate Doc)

With Ahsan/Hendra stopped in the semifinals, Rosan hopes that the women's doubles pair Greysia/Apriyani and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting can play even better. "God willing, tomorrow the Greysia/Apriyani pair can win and advance to the finals. Likewise, Ginting can win to get tickets to the semifinals", he added.

The Indonesian contingent continues to provide support to the players at the Tokyo Olympics. In the Ahsan/Hendra match, CdM together with the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Tokyo Heri Akhmadi, as well as the Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee Raja Sapta Oktohari and the Executive Committee namely Indra Gamulya, Rafiq Hakim Radinal, and Teuku Arlan Perkasa Lukman gave encouragement to "The Daddies".

Heri said that Ahsan/Hendra had done their best. It's just, he said, his opponent was better. “In today's semifinal, we have one knockout but tomorrow there will still be Greysia/Apriyani and Anthony Sinisuka who will compete. Hopefully, they can give their best performance and win", said Heri Akhmadi.

Indonesian men's doubles, Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan. (Intermediate Doc)

Meanwhile, Indra expressed his gratitude to the Ambassador (Heri) who always supports the Indonesian team in the Olympics. "On behalf of the Indonesian Olympic Committee, I would like to thank the ambassador for the support who has always supported the Red and White athletes", said Indra.

The struggles carried out by Indonesian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics including Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan should be appreciated no matter what the results are.