Shuttler Tontowi Ahmad Announces Retirement
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18 May 2020 14:45 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former world number one in mixed doubles badminton Indonesia's Tontowi Ahmad announced his retirement via his Instagram account today, May 18. The 32-year-old athlete won the 2016 Olympics and All England Badminton Championship three times in 2012, 2013, and 2014 along with Liliyana Natsir.
“This is the time to say goodbye to something I’m devoted to for over half my age that has made my life more colorful, sometimes in bad and good times, but I’m proud of what I have achieved,” said Tontowi on Monday.
Tontowi, who hailed from PB Djarum badminton club, said he had reached the peak of his sports career. “I indeed hope to quit at the top of the podium but this is life, we cannot get everything that we want, let alone in this situation. But whatever happens, I’m very grateful to have been in this position.”
Owi—his nickname—extended his gratitude to all parties who had supported him during his badminton career. “This is the time for me to continue my life, achieve success in other fields,” he said.
Since parting with Liliyana Natsir, or Butet, who retired after the 2019 Indonesia Masters, Owi had failed to thrive at the 2019 BWF World Tour.
Partnering with Winny Oktavina Kandow, Tontowi Ahmad reached the quarterfinals of the All England and Indonesia Open. In 2020, he was paired with Apriyani Rahayu and made it to the second round of the 2020 Indonesia Masters.
IRSYAN HASYIM