Indonesia\'s Praveen Jordan (right) and Debby Susanto (left) pose on the championship podium during an award ceremony, following their final against China\'s Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping at the Korea Open Badminton Superseries in Seoul on Sept. 17, 2017. After 18 months of lackluster tournament results, the pair’s star has finally risen to the top again with their mixed doubles gold.
SEOUL, SUNDAY – Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto’s 18-month-long wait to once again stand on the champions’ podium ended at the 2017 Korea Open Super Series tournament. Their achievement was further proof that Praveen and Debby are worthy successors to Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.
The championship title was the first for Praveen and Debby after winning the All England title in March last year. At the tournament in Korea, Praveen and Debby defeated Chinese pair Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping 21-17 and 21-18in the finals at Seoul’s SK Handball Stadium on Sunday (17/9/2017).
The 2016 season has been their best since they were paired in 2014. Praveen and Debby won the All England as well as the India Open Grand Prix Gold. They also played in the finals at the Hong Kong Open Super Series. In 2015, they reached the final round in four tournaments, but failed to win any of them.
Based on their win in Korea, Praveen and Debby are thought to be equal to Tontowi and Liliyana, so Indonesia will have two pairs of badminton mixed doubles with similar levels of skill, just like in the days of Nova Widianto/Liliyana and Flandy Limpele/Vita Marissa from the early 2000s to 2011. However, after winning the 2016 All England, Praveen and Debby had gone on to the finals only three more times, until they finally reemerged as champions in Seoul.
Praveen’s increasing lack of motivation, which almost cost him his position in the 2017 Sudirman Cup team, made the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) question his commitment to the sport. In an interview ahead of the Sudirman Cup team’s departure to New Zealand in May, Praveen – or Ucok as his teammates call him – reaffirmed his pledge to return to form.
His renewed commitment brought the mixed doubles pair to seventh place in the world rankings after the Australian Open Super Series, despite their failing to bring home the championship title. Their hopes of becoming world champions were dashed in the quarterfinals.
While Praveen and Debby were competing in Seoul, national badminton mixed doubles’ head coach Richard Mainaky constantly reminded Praveen to maintain his motivation, communicating with him from Jakarta through WhatsApp.
One of Mainaky’s messages to Praveen after the quarterfinals on Friday (15/9) read: “Don’t stop now, Cok, just two more steps and you’ll prove that you can do it. Now is the time to show that you’re an All England champion. The path is open and God has given you the chance. You need to use it and give your best. My prayers are with you and the rest is up to you.”
Praveen finally proved himself in Seoul. He and Debby were the only Indonesian representatives in the final round of the mixed doubles.“We stayed focused from the beginning up until the end. We intensified our communication and we motivated ourselves and each other,” Praveen said about the key to their victory at the finals.
Anthony wins
In the all-Indonesian men’s singles finals, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting won Indonesia’s first title in the seniors level after defeating Jonathan Christie in a rubber set of 21-13, 19-21, 22-20. This was Indonesia’s first men’s singles title in a super series or premier tournament since Sony Dwi Kuncoro won the 2016 Singapore Open.
However, Indonesian men’s doubles team Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon failed to follow in the footsteps of Praveen and Debby. They were defeated by Danish pair Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen 19-21, 21-19, 15-21.
Meanwhile, Indian Pusarla V Sindhu won the women’s singles and Chinese pair Huang Yaqiong/Yu Xiaohan won the women’s doubles.
