Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying & Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir set for Olympic final rematch at Indonesia Masters

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Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying lost to Liliyana Natsir/Tontowi Ahmad (from Left) in the 2018 Indonesia Open final. (photo: PBSI)
Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying lost to Liliyana Natsir/Tontowi Ahmad (from Left) in the 2018 Indonesia Open final. (photo: PBSI)

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying will have a shot at redemption for their loss to Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia in the Rio Olympic final as both pairs set up a blockbuster semi-final showdown at Indonesia Masters on Saturday.

Chan/Goh advanced to the Indonesia Masters semi-finals after beating England’s Marcus Ellis-Lauren Smith 21-11, 22-20 on Friday while Ahmad/Natsir defeated Takuro Hoki/Wakana Nagahara of Japan 21-16, 21-14 in the quarter-finals.

Based on their head-to-head record, Chan/Goh had lost 10 times to Ahmad/Natsir in their 11 meetings, with the only victory came at the 2012 China Open.

To make things even more difficult for Chan/Goh, since this will be Natsir’s farewell tournament, Indonesian supporters will surely flood the Istora Senayan stadium to offer every amount of support that they could possibly give to their national heroes.

However, Chan said although this would be Liliyana Natsir’s last tournament of her badminton career, he and Goh would still put up a good fight against the legendary Indonesian mixed doubles pair.

“It’s not my intention to spoil the moment at her farewell tournament, but as a player, it’s my responsibility to try to win the game. I believe we can provide a great match for the audience,” said Chan.

“At the same time, Liu Ying and I just try to enjoy the game and do not want to put too much pressure on ourselves,” added Chan.

Meanwhile, another Malaysian mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jamie Lai couldn’t hold on to force a decider as they were sent packing by World No. 1 Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong of China 13-21, 20-22. Zheng/Huang will take on Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino of Japan in the final four.

In men’s singles, Malaysia’s 21-year-old Lee Zii Jia was outlasted by Anders Antonsen of Denmark, losing 13-21, 13-21.

“I was disappointed with my performance today. I have to admit that Anders played better than me,” said Lee.

“I’m going home to prepare for the German Open and All-England in March,” added Lee.

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