A timely update post the World Championships 2015. Full list of Mohd Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan's achievements: World Championships (2013, 2015) All-England SSP (2014) Asian Games Individual Event Gold Medal (2014) BWF World Super Series Finals (2013) Malaysian Open SS/SSP (2013, 2015) Singapore Open SS (2013) Indonesia Open SSP (2013) Japan Open SS (2013) Hong Kong Open SS (2014) Runner-ups: Badminton Asia Championships (2015) Indonesia Open SSP (2014) Japan Open SS (2014) Denmark Open SSP (2013) - curiously all of these 4 defeats came at the hands of Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong. Australia Open GPG (2013) Bronze-Medal: Sudirman Cup (2015) Asian Games Team Event (2014) Thomas Cup (2014) The next tourneys for them will be at the Japan & Korea SS where again all the top 10 pairs will be competing. They should also be competing at the Denmark & China SSP. As for the French and Hong Kong SS, they can opt not to compete but I strongly think they will go on to try and defend their title in HKG. Obviously, the target will be to defend and win as much ranking pts as possible for the Dubai World SS Finals 2015 as well as the Rio Olympics 2016. Ranking pts to defend for the Rio Olympics qualification: Denmark Open SSP - 6050 (QF) China Open SSP - 2660 (R32) HKG SS - 9200 (WINNER) BWF Destination Dubai World SS Finals - 4,320 (Group Stage) All-England SSP - 4,320 (R16) Malaysia SSP - 11,000 (WINNER) Singapore SS - 6,420 (SF) Badminton Asia Championships - 7,800 (RUNNER-UP) I would like them to win 1-2 more SS/SSP titles by end of the year, preferably those that they have not won before, such as Denmark & China.
BWF's Facebook : "Perfect Ending! Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan presented their countrymen with a most cherished Independence Day gift a day early, winning the Men's Doubles World Championship in grand style this evening. The popular pair sped ahead and never relinquished their grip on the final. beating China's Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan, 21-17 21-14, in 37 minutes. It was a fitting - and yes, deafening - climax to the TOTAL BWF World Championship 2015 as fans erupted in celebration inside the Istora Senayan on the eve of Indonesia's 70th Independence Day anniversary. Moments later, the hosts' national anthem filled the noisy arena as loud-singing Indonesians watched their flag ascend to the rafters. What a way to finish!" Fantastic! Hendra/Ahsan are the best of the best.. undefeated in major Championships!
Rio 2016's MD will be fun to watch, as we'll see Setiawan and Fu Haifeng battling for not just second gold but also the title of "best MD player of all time" will be on the line for the two, we'll be in for a treat ^^
If hendra won rio olympic, he will be the first indonesian won 2 olympic gold medal. i think ahsan/setiawan and lee/yoo have the best odds for rio olympic gold..
Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan has the better head to head to these two pairs, and FHF will want this gold just as bad as Setiawan so I guess it could go to any of these three pairs. ^^
Why should ZN aim for 1 when he has what it takes to win 2? As for now, he has better chance to win 3 OG gold medals than LD does! A true athlete will be always hungry for greater glory, y'see. Why do you think LD is still playing even when he already won 2 golds and the crown prince, CL, has proven himself to be *quite* dependable?
We're getting off topic, but ZN and ZYL if they want to win 2 golds each in their respective doubles pairing in the upcoming Rio Olympics, they'll have to be relatively injury free to do it. It'll be quite hard physically on their bodies to continue doing well and winning in all the upcoming SS tournaments ...and still be able to perform at Rio, when compared to other players who only play a single event, ie most of their competitors.