Twitter users have picked mixed doubles great Liliyana Natsir the most deserving to be recognised as the Women’s Shuttler of 2010s via a poll on BWF’s official account.
The Indonesian Olympic champion emerged on Sunday with the most votes among the 20 most successful players of the last decade after five rounds of knockout voting.
Natsir, a four-time world champion, was deemed by the voters to have had a better decade than fellow Rio 2016 gold medallists Carolina Marin (Spain) and Ayaka Takahashi, who were seen off in the Round of 16 and semifinals respectively. In the final against Chinese Taipei’s women’s singles ace Tai Tzu Ying, Natsir received 69 per cent of the 4,269 votes.
Revered on the circuit for her tactical awareness and front court flair, Natsir is regarded as one of the most prolific mixed doubles players in history.
Natsir’s 2010s was indeed filled with success – she retired last year having won four World Championships titles and a rare Olympic crown for her country in mixed doubles with partner Tontowi Ahmad. She also ended her long wait to be an Asian champion in 2015.
Unmatched feats in the last decade:
- 2014: Natsir and Ahmad became the only shuttlers to win three consecutive All England titles.
- 2016: Only the second Indonesian woman to win Olympic gold.
- 2016: The first player from her country to play in two Olympic finals. She won silver at Beijing 2008.
- 2016: She and Ahmad became the first Indonesian mixed pair to achieve Olympic success.
- 2017: The most successful mixed doubles shuttler in World Championships history (four titles).
Titles taken into account:
Superseries/Superseries Premier
HSBC BWF World Tour (Super 500 and above)
Continental Championships
World Championships
Olympic Games
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