Susi SUSANTI

Indonesians had been competing in the Olympic Games since 1952, but had never won a gold medal until badminton was added to the Olympic programme in 1992.

A golden couple

At the Barcelona Games, Susy Susanti qualified easily for the final, outscoring her first four opponents 88-22. However, a determined Bang Soo-hyun of Korea won the first game 11-5. Then Susanti took charge, winning the second game 11-5 and the third game 11-3. Two hours later, her fiancé, Allan Budi Kusuma, won the men's badminton title. When Susi and Budi returned to Indonesia, the celebration in their honour included a two-hour parade through the streets of Jakarta that was led by a car carrying a gigantic shuttlecock.

One the podium one last time

The following year, Susanti faced Bang in the final of the 1993 world championships. Again Bang won the first game, but again Susanti came back to win the next two games. At the next edition of the Games, in 1996, the two were matched in the semifinals. This time Bang emerged victorious. However Susi recovered to win the bronze medal match against Korean Kim Ji-hyun 11-4, 11-1. Susanti and Kusuma married in 1997.