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Ahsan gives Septano some encouragement during a match at London 2012.
Did You Know? Ahsan’s Best Olympic Run Wasn’t With Setiawan
Mohammad Ahsan’s partnership with Hendra Setiawan is so legendary that they are famous worldwide just by their nickname the Daddies.
The two have combined to win numerous major titles, including three World Championships in 2013, 2015 and 2019.
Avid badminton fans will know Setiawan is an Olympic gold medallist, winning the men’s doubles final at Beijing 2008 with the late Markis Kido.
Setiawan has also appeared at the Summer Games alongside Ahsan but, to the surprise of many, the then world champions could not make it out of their group in Rio five years ago, losing to Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa and Chai Biao/Hong Wei.
That means Ahsan’s best run came in 2012 in London, when he and Bona Septano went to the quarterfinals before bowing out to second seeds Jung Jae Sung and Lee Yong Dae.
They had upset another Korean pair, fourth seeds Ko Sung Hyun and Yoo Yeon Seong in their group to set up the last eight bout.
A year later he was paired up with Setiawan and they went on a medal-collecting journey together, reaching the world No.1 position in just a few months. Kido’s younger brother Septano, remarkably, later hit new hights as an airline pilot.
Although quarterfinals at London 2012 remains the furthest Ahsan has gone at the Olympics, he and Setiawan start among the favourites and the world No.2s will hope to rise to the very top of the podium at Tokyo 2020 next month.
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