How the 2010 Macau Open Changed Tontowi Ahmad and Greysia Polii’s Lives Forever

Jun 16, 2026, 11:30 AM CUT

Aug 17, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Tontowi Ahmad (INA) celebrates after defeating Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh (MAS, not pictured) during the mixed doubles gold match in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Riocentro - Pavilion 4. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Sometimes a single tournament does more than one can ever imagine. It quietly changes career paths, dissolves partnerships, and sets them for greatness. The 2010 Macau Open was that kind of tournament for Indonesian badminton stars Tontowi Ahmad and Greysia Polii.

Two people walked into Macau that year with their futures still open. Both walked out with their trajectories permanently changed. Tontowi went toward an Olympic gold in Rio, while Greysia went on to win one in Tokyo.

Liliyana Natsir arrived at the 2010 Macau Open as one of the most successful mixed doubles players in the world, but without a settled partner.

Natsir had built her reputation alongside Nova Widianto, winning two World Championships in 2005 and 2007 and a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The break-up of that partnership allowed the Indonesian coaching staff to pair Liliyana with a 22-year-old Tontowi Ahmad. Tontowi had very little major tournament experience before that.

Macau was their debut tournament, and they went on to win it.

Meantime, before forging his historic partnership with Natsir, Tontowi was playing mixed doubles alongside Greysia Polii.

Greysia was so versatile that in 2010, she was competing simultaneously in both women's doubles and mixed doubles at the national level.

When Tontowi partnered with Liliyana, the mixed doubles chapter of Greysia's career gradually slowed down. She partnered with Meiliana Jauhari to finish as runners-up in the Women's doubles at the 2010 Macau Open.

Both Tontowi Ahmad and Greysia Polii Won Olympic Gold Medals for Indonesia

Aug 17, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; (L-R) Nan Zhang and Yunlei Zhao (CHN), Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir (INA), and Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh (MAS) celebrate after winning medal during the mixed doubles in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Riocentro - Pavilion 4. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

After winning the 2010 Macau Open, the mixed doubles pair of Liliyana Natsir and Tontowi Ahmad went on to win the tournament in the next two seasons as well.

Before claiming their second World Championship in 2017 as a pair, they created history for Indonesian badminton.

At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, they defeated Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia 21-14, 21-12 to win Indonesia's first-ever Olympic gold in mixed doubles.

On the other hand, Greysia had to wait a bit longer to achieve her goal. She partnered with Apriyani Rahayu in 2017 after failing to win anything in the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.

Greysia Polii with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Women's doubles gold medal. Image | Badmintonphoto via BWF Olympics

At Tokyo 2020, Greysia and Apriyani beat the second-seeded Chinese pair of Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan 21-19, 21-15 to claim Indonesia's first-ever women's doubles Olympic gold.

The change that started in Macau in 2010, with Tontowi moving on and Greysia moving forward, ended with two Olympic gold medals a decade apart.

Polii retired on 12 June 2022, while Tontowi had already called it a day on his career on 18 May 2020.

Do you feel that those moves in 2010 were the main catalyst behind Indonesian badminton's success? Let us know in the comments.

Written by

Koushik Biswas

Edited by

Koushik Biswas