OUE Open: Shock loss for Olympic champions
Reigning Olympic mixed doubles badminton champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the OUE Singapore Open on Tuesday (April 11) evening.
The Indonesian world No. 3 duo lost 21-14, 21-16 to Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai at the Indoor Stadium.
“I had no time to recover from my injury; it was just match after match, and during this one, there were times when I was reluctant to take shots because of it,” said Liliyana, 31, who sported a bandaged right knee.
Tontowi added: “I didn’t feel ready for the match, and when I finally felt warmed up, the scores were already too far to come back from.
“Also, our communication on the court today was not too good.”
The Indonesians won the Singapore Open in 2011, 2013 and 2014, with Liliyana partnering Nova Widianto to further victories here in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
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