‘Liliyana Most Difficult Opponent’ – Debby Susanto
Debby Susanto called time on her career yesterday at a place she holds dear – the Istora Senayan in Jakarta. From her senior international debut in 2009 (with Muhammad Rijal), Susanto progressed to become one of the…
· DEV SUKUMAR
Debby Susanto called time on her career yesterday at a place she holds dear – the Istora Senayan in Jakarta. From her senior international debut in 2009 (with Muhammad Rijal), Susanto progressed to become one of the best mixed doubles players of her time. While she didn’t achieve the accolades that her great contemporary Liliyana Natsir did, Susanto could look back with pride at a career that saw her ranked in the top ten for extended periods. The All England in 2016 and the Korea Open in 2017 were among her biggest achievements. Excerpts from an interview:
How difficult a decision was it to retire?
Of course it was a difficult decision because I started playing badminton from when I was little. I’ve been playing for 16 or 17 years. It was very difficult to take this decision but I have a different priority now, and that made it easier to choose. If I didn’t have this priority, maybe it would’ve been much harder. I will soon be 30, so I must start thinking about having a baby and so on.