Gunawan out to prove sceptics wrong at the Olympics

INDONESIAN Tony Gunawan will make his second Olympic appearance as one of the oldest players in the badminton competition – at the ripe old age of 37.

Although his age may be a concern, especially in the demanding men’s doubles event, Tony intends to prove everyone wrong with his partner Howard Bach.

Gunawan and the Vietnameseborn Howard stunned the badminton world when they nailed the United States’ first men’s doubles title at the World Championships in 2005.

The duo now loom as dangerous darkhorses at the London Games.

“Finally, I have qualified for the Olympic Games again since moving to the US. This will be my first Olympic outing with Howard,” said Tony, who won the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games gold with Candra Wijaya for Indonesia.

Tony could not compete in the 2008 Beijing Games because he had to wait for four years before the Badminton World Federation (BWF) allowed him to represent another country.

Asked what made his partnership with Howard tick, Tony said: “We still enjoy the game and we communicate well. That is the key. And we never give up.”

Tony and the 33-year-old Howard are in Wuhan for the Thomas Cup Finals. The United States qualified for the team event as the champions from the Pan American region.

“Our team may not have much of a chance in the Finals but, for Tony and me, this is our first quality sparring after the All-england. We are looking forward to playing good matches in our group against South Korea and Germany.”