Lahti-Liukkonen and Ahtiainen want to be the first Finnish couple to find their way to the Olympic fields. For that you need victories in tough world tour tournaments.
Taru Lahti-Liukkonen and Niina Ahtiainen still get chills when it comes to the Challenge tournament in the Maldives.
In October, the duo became the first Finnish women’s team to win a high-level world tour tournament.
The historic achievement hit the sweet spot. Lahti-Liukkonen, 30, and Ahtiainen, 26, decided to join forces in the fall and aim for a place at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
– The performances in the Maldives really gave me a lot of confidence. And the best thing is, our game has gone a lot further since then, Ahtiainen says now.
The tournament on the Indian Ocean paradise islands was a reminder that the duo can beat almost anyone on a good day. It will be useful when Lahti-Liukkonen and Ahtiainen try to clear their way to the five-ring races as the first Finnish team in a season.
– The victory in the Maldives strengthened the belief that something has been done right here. That doesn’t just happen by chance. Now the game is in such a state that Taru and Niina are able to beat the top teams in the world, the head coach of the national team Toni Vahela says.
The route to the Olympics
You can get to the Olympic fields in Paris in many seasons. The most realistic thing for Finns is to aim for a place in the competition through the Olympic ranking.
During this year and next year, the couples collect points from the tournaments of the world tour. The 17 teams with the most points qualify for the Olympics.
Lahti-Liukkonen and Ahtiainen compete in practice only at the toughest Elite and Challenge levels, which share the most ranking points.
– The team’s statisticians have calculated that the necessary point pot would require mainly places 5–9 in the Elite and Challenge tournaments. The goal is completely realistic, but we have worked hard not to get ahead of things. You have to live in the moment, says Lahti-Liukkonen.
Lahti-Liukkonen and Ahtiainen have placed ninth twice and once fifth at the Challenge level this season. Head coach Vahela highlights the matches played in mid-June in Jurmala, where the doubles team excelled. Reigning European champions and Olympic quadruplets, Latvia Tina Graudina and Anastasia Samoilova defeated their Finnish counterparts with difficulty 21–18 and 22–20.
– Taru and Niina have all the qualities needed for an Olympic place – both physically, tactically and skillfully. Getting by depends more on how they manage to trust themselves and live one moment at a time, Vahela analysed.
After a long time in Hietsu
Lahti-Liukkonen and Ahtiainen will play this weekend in Helsinki’s Hietaniemi, where an international Futures-level tournament will be held for the first time.
It is the third highest tournament on the world tour. The two favorites to win will be able to play in front of the Finnish home crowd after a break of almost three years.
After the Hietsu games, the season continues around the world in Elite and Challenge level tournaments. In October, the World Cup in Tlaxcala, Mexico awaits.
– Our strength is physicality and the fact that we rise together from really bad places. Instead, the difference between a good day and a bad day must be reduced. At our best, our game is amazing, but on the second day the situation can be different, Lahti-Liukkonen reflects.