Fatigue Is The Main Cause Of Hendra/Ahsan's Failure In The All England 2023 Final, The Age Factor Is Starting To Play?

The pair Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan (right) lost to Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto (left) in the All England 2023 final in Birmingham, England. (Photo: Twitter @INABadminton)

JAKARTA - Indonesia's senior men's doubles, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, had to settle for being runners-up at the All England 2023 event. The pair nicknamed The Daddies lost to their compatriot, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

Hendra/Ahsan gave up from the world number one pair in two straight games 21-17, 21-14 in the final which took place on Sunday, March 19, evening. Fajar/Rian won in just 34 minutes.

Hendra/Ahsan frankly revealed the main cause of their defeat in the final match. They fell so easily in the All England 2023 final due to fatigue.

"From a physical point of view, we are tired, we cannot return in condition after undergoing yesterday's quarter-final and semi-final matches," said Hendra in a written statement released by PBSI.

According to Hendra, Fajar/Rian also performed optimally and was difficult to beat. The combination of good energy and game techniques, forced Hendra/Ahsan to acknowledge the superiority of the world number one pair.

"But today Fajar/Rian played well, not as easy as dead and very safe. We can't do our best. Congratulations to Fajar/Rian, hopefully this can be their provision in the future," Hendra said.

Even though he again had to settle for being a finalist in All England like last year's edition when he met Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, The Daddies considered this achievement to be very optimal considering the age of those approaching 40 years.

"We didn't expect to be able to return to the final. We are grateful even though we lost in the final, but we can still fight against young players," said Hendra, as quoted by Antara, Monday, March 20.

Meanwhile, The Daddies had to receive another bitter pill after failing in the All England 2023 final. Ahsan suffered a serious injury ahead of the end of the match.

During match point 14-20, Ahsan was injured due to a return that forced his body to turn to the side as a reflex to avoid the shuttlecock. As a result of this movement, Ahsan's left leg knee was injured which forced him off the field and asked for the medical team's treatment.

"I don't know how severe Ahsan's injury was, I tried to bend his left knee a bit. But we decided to continue first because it was already point 20 too. If it's retailed, give up when there's only one more point, it doesn't feel good," said Hendra.

Lekas pulih Ahsan. Lihat perhatian banget Hendra sama partnernya. Safe flight The Daddies!#AllEngland2023 pic.twitter.com/q7MGaQyOOY

— BADMINTON INDONESIA (@INABadminton) March 19, 2023