Ahsan / Hendra Officially Retire After Losing in the Round of 16 at the 2025 Indonesia Masters

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian men's doubles pair / known as 'The Daddies' have officially retired as badminton players. Ahsan / Hendra hung up their rackets after being defeated by Malaysian pair Junaidi Arif / Roy King Yap 13-21, 14-21 in the Round of 16 of the 2025 at Istora Senayan, Jakarta on Thursday, January 23, 2025.

Ahsan / Hendra made this BWF Super 500 event their last tournament. They announced their decision to retire from badminton in early December.

"Finally, this is the last time for sure. So I feel more relieved because in the past, every time I played, I had to concentrate and so on, but today and yesterday I felt like I enjoyed it (the match) more," Hendra said in a post-match press conference.

Hendra looked relaxed during the round of 16 match. He smiled several times during the match. Though he and Ahsan made several errors and failed to return the ball, there was no tension on his face.

In fact, just after the loss was confirmed, the two embraced for a few moments. A rare moment. Usually, the two of them hug when they win a game or become champions in a game. "Finally our fight is over, since we were little we were always practicing. Now we don't practice anymore. Luckily, we are not tired (of practicing) anymore," said Ahsan.

Baba Ahsan, as he is usually called, was in tears as soon as the Round of 16 match was over. He prostrated himself in the middle of the court after hugging Hendra and the opposing pair in front of the photographers.

The 2025 Indonesia Masters marks more than a decade, 13 years to be exact, of togetherness between Ahsan / Hendra as a pair on the court, even though they were separated in 2016. When they were together again, they won many titles, even though they were no longer young.

This defeat also ended their long run of winning gold medals in the 2020 Thomas Cup. However, The Daddies will still be honored in a ceremonial event called "Tribute to The Daddies" on the final day of the tournament on Sunday, January 26, 2025.

After retiring from the men's doubles, Ahsan / Hendra plan to work together to develop a joint business. The two had spilled that they would be building a badminton court and a restaurant but did not want to go into details.

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