All England Open Badminton Championships 2022: Indonesia's Muhammad Shohibul Fikri / Bagas Maulana claim men's doubles title
Rising stars Fikri and Maulana defeated their Indonesian compatriots in the final to claim their first All England crown.
Badminton
Muhammad Shohibul Fikri / Bagas Maulana are 2022 All England Badminton champions after a 21-19, 21-13 victory over fellow Indonesians and former world champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.
The final was over in 36 minutes.
It was a thrilling all-Indonesian men's doubles final. A battle of youth vs. experience as Fikri/Maulana who are 22 and 23 overcame their veteran opponents to announce their arrival on the international stage.
It felt like a changing of the guard in Birmingham as the unseeded pair making their debut lifted one of the most important trophies in badminton.
Yesterday the two young guns defeated World No.1 pairing Marcus Fernaldi Gideon / Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo yesterday and were unstoppable today too.
With a blinding fast defence and big smashes from Maulana, they blitzed the vets and after winning game one they scored seven straight points to go from 4-8 down to 11-8 up at the Game 2 interval.
There was trouble for Ahsan who got his calf muscle sprayed in game two, clearly carrying an injury.
There was an air of inevitability as Fikri/Maulana saw out game two, the better pair all round.
Unseeded at their debut tournament, this young duo have made an incredible opening statement, and we can expect an awful lot more from this double-act.