Nova Widianto

Nova Widianto
Personal information
Birth name	Andreas Nova Widianto
Country	Indonesia
Born	(1977-10-10) October 10, 1977 Indonesia
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb; 11.5 st)
Retired	Sept. 2010
Handedness	Right
Coach	Richard Mainaky
Highest ranking	1 (15 May 2008)
Current ranking	2 (29 April 2010)
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Indonesia Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Mixed doubles World Championships 2005 Anaheim Mixed doubles 2007 Kuala Lumpur Mixed doubles 2009 Hyderabad Mixed doubles Southeast Asian Games 2009 Vientiane Mixed doubles 2009 Vientiane Team match 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Mixed doubles

Nova Widianto (born 10 October 1977 in Klaten, Central Java)^[1] is a former male badminton player from Indonesia.^[2]

Career

Nova Widianto is considered as one of the greatest doubles player in his era. He is known for his superb movement on court and versatility to be paired with various players. Widianto specialized in mixed doubles. He enjoyed some international success with Vita Marissa, winning the Southeast Asian Games in 2001, the Asian Badminton Championships in 2003, and the Japan Open in 2004. However, his greatest success came from a partnership with Lilyana Natsir. They have been one of the world's two or three leading teams. In 2005, they were able to win the World Championships in 2005, beating Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen in the final. The pair once more captured the gold medal at the 2007, by beating Zheng Bo and Gao Ling. They claimed the silver medals at the 2008 Olympic Games, having a shocking loss to the world number 10, Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung. At the 2009 BWF World Championships, they also earned the silver medal, losing to the Danish pair. He was the runner up three times in a row, from 2006 to 2008, at the Japan open. They have been runner up at the All England Championships twice, and probably the narrowest one was at 2010, beaten by future Olympic champion, Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, 18-21 25-23 18-21 in an hour and 31 minutes, considered as one of the best mixed doubles game that ever played. Widianto has represented Indonesia in the Sudirman Cup (combined men's and women's world team championships) five times: 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

2004 Summer Olympics

He competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in mixed doubles with partner Vita Marissa and only reached the quarterfinal, after being defeated in the quarterfinal by the Danish pair.

2008 Summer Olympics

He competed in badminton at the 2008 Summer Olympics as the 1st seed in mixed doubles with partner Lilyana Natsir and reached the final by beating He Hanbin and Yu Yang in the semifinal with thrilling scores, 15–21 21–11 23–21. In the final, they were defeated by gold medalists, Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung of South Korea in straight sets, 21–11 and 21–17.

Personal life

When he was young, he joined the Tangkas Jakarta badminton club. The parent's names are Santoso (father) and Sutari (mother). His hobby is football. Normally, people called him Nova or Kedheng. He's married former Indonesian national player Eny Widiowati.

Men's doubles

He also followed some tournaments in men's doubles. He played with Candra Wijaya for a few months, preparing for Thomas Cup event and succeeded to be the runner up of Asian Badminton Championships, lost to Jung Jae Sung and Lee Yong-dae in the final, 21–16 21–18. He also helped Indonesia to claim gold medal in men's team in Southeast Asian Games, partnering with Muhammad Ahsan and beat Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari, 21–18 21–17 to give 3–1 win against Malaysia .

Playing style

His powerful smash and accurate placement on the court have been a crucial part of Nova's game to dominate the mixed doubles and being at the top level. His mental strength and great spirit also become the decisive factor to win the game and somehow manage to be the other source of his power. The other thing is his ability to keep retrieving the shuttle with such tricky technique also able to make his opponent goes into the trouble.

References

External links

• tournamentsoftware.com
• "Nova Widianto". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.