Indonesia\'s Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (left) and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo pose with their trophies after winning against China\'s Li Junhui and China\'s Liu Yuchen in their All England Open Badminton Championships men\'s doubles final match in Birmingham, central England, on March 12, 2017. Marcus and Kevin won the match 21-19, 21-14.
“This is one of my dreams, to become All England champion.” The comment was made by Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo moments after winning the 2017 All England title with Marcus Fernaldi Gideon. Kevin and Marcus are the new Indonesian badminton stars who are part of the men’s doubles regeneration process, which never seems to stop.
In the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, England, on Sunday (12/3), Kevin and Marcus realized their dreams after beating Li Jun-hui and Liu Yuchen of China 21-19, 21-14 in the final. Their brilliant performance won them the final in a relatively short time, only 35 minutes.
When the opponents were unable to return Marcus’ powerful smash shot, the Indonesian supporters at the Barclaycard Arena went ecstatic. On the court, Kevin and Marcus expressed their emotions by shouting and punching into the air before hugging men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Perngadi.
The joy was not only felt in Birmingham. In Marcus’ house in West Jakarta and Kevin’s house in Banyuwangi, East Java, the pair’s families also felt it.
The All England tournament, which was first held in 1899, is the classic tournament, the title of which is the most longed-for by badminton players, equivalent to the Wimbledon title for tennis players.
The All England tournament is so prestigious that Kevin’s mother, Niawati, 51, was all tense while watching her son playing on Sunday night. “Not only nervous. My body felt hot and cold,” she said in Banyuwangi on Monday (13/3).
Kevin is really close to his mother. From the moment he left for Birmingham to the moment right before the final was played, he continuously engaged in communication with his mother and asked for her to pray for him. “I only asked for Kevin to be given motivation because he was only a step away from realizing his dream,” Nia said.
Tears dropped from the eyes of the mother of two when she witnessed her son’s hard work bearing results. “I am really proud that Kevin and Marcus are able to raise the reputation of Indonesia. Since he was small, Kevin dreamed of winning the All England and Olympic titles,” Nia said.
Kevin is the second of two children. He became interested in playing badminton when he was 4 years old. The interest came from seeing his father playing badminton at a court behind his house. He was so keen on watching badminton that he used to manage to keep himself awake until late at night and sometimes even refused to go to bed.
Kevin learned to “hold a racket” through private lessons. When he was in grade 1 of elementary school, Kevin and his brother took part in badminton practice in Jember. Four times a week Kevin’s father, Sugiarto, 57, would take them for a two- to three-hour journey from Banyuwangi to Jember.
Kevin’s parents used to place a mattress inside their car so that little Kevin could sleep on the way to training. Kevin would wake up when the car arrived at the PB Putra 46 Argopuro club. Every day, Kevin would go home at about 8 p.m.
In 2006, Niawati read the news regarding the PB Djarum club, which at the time was building a sports hall and was looking for badminton players. Kevin was then taken to undergo selection. Despite having gone through three selection stages, Kevin failed to pass.
The failure did not dent Kevin and his family’s determination. The badminton player, who is now aged 21, continued to train hard and take part in various competitions, from district level to club level. He believed that the tournament atmosphere would improve his ability and mental strength. In 2007, it was announced that Kevin had managed to pass the PB Djarum selection process.
More confident
The nerves during the All England were also felt in Marcus’ house. “It was tense watching, but for the final I was more confident that they could win,” said Kurnia Hu, Marcus’ father, who was also a national badminton player in the 1980s.
Interviewed at the PB Tangkas Jakarta badminton court, Kurnia talked about his son Marcus, the youngest of his two children. Once or twice Kurnia received words of congratulations from members of the Tangkas Sport Center fitness club.
It was at the same court where Kurnia has been a coach for 30 years that Marcus took part in badminton practice for the first time, aged 9. Kurnia is the coach of his son, whom he calls “adek”.
Even though his father is a former athlete, Marcus was not forced to choose the same profession. Kurnia and his wife, Sujati Iskandar, had vowed to support and help their two children as much as possible on whatever paths they chose.
This was also the case when Marcus chose to focus on badminton, while his elder sister Nadia Emanuela Gideon chose to pursue her studies and obtain a Master’s degree in psychology.
Marcus’ seriousness in badminton began to develop at 13 years of age when he received a scholarship from a school in Singapore. Upon his return to Jakarta because of illness he chose not to go back to Singapore. This was only four months after he started school there.
Kurnia supported and coached Marcus himself to help him accomplish his best achievements. Marcus played in the singles and men’s doubles category. It was not until he joined the Cipayung national training camp in 2010 that Marcus started focusing on the doubles category.
However, the path in his career as a badminton player has not been smooth. In 2013, Marcus decided to pull out of the national training camp because of a problem in the selection of players for international tournaments. “Because he was upset, he cried and wanted to stop playing badminton, but I said he had already jumped into the badminton waters and had lost a lot of time for other things,” Kurnia said.
His motivation returned when Markis Kido, the 2008 Beijing Olympics champion, asked Marcus to become his doubles partner in 2013. They won the French Open Super Series in the same year and reached the All England semifinals in 2014.
The achievement prompted him to accept the invitation to return to the national training camp in 2014 and pair up with Kevin, who lost his partner Selvanus Geh to illness. It was coach Chafidz Yusuf who suggested the pairing and it was later followed up by Rexy Mainaky, the Indonesian Badminton Association\'s head of development and achievement.
Marcus and Kevin have emerged as Indonesia’s new badminton stars. Fellow athletes and coaches say that the duo, nicknamed “Minions”, are not only blessed with speed but also have tough mental strength. On the court they never give up, even if they fall behind. “Look at their expressions when playing, always determined,” said men’s doubles assistant coach Aryono Miranat.
