NEW DELHI, KOMPAS – Indonesian men’s doubles champions Kevin Sanjaya/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon have passed through their first hurdle in defending their world number one ranking.
In the 2017 Indian Open final at Siri Fort Stadium in New Delhi, India, on Sunday (2/4), Kevin/Marcus defeated fellow Indonesian men’s doubles pair Ricky Karanda Suwardi/Angga Pratama 21-11, 21-15.
The final was a repeat of last year’s final. In the 2016 Indian Open final, Kevin/Marcus beat Ricky/Angga 21-17, 21-13.
The result takes the record of the meetings between Kevin/Marcus and Ricky/Angga to 4-0. Apart from winning the Indian Open final for the last two years, Kevin/Marcus also dominated the 2016 Australian Open and the 2016 Dubai World Series.
Kevin/Marcus have also won five of the Super Series Premier tournament finals they participated in over the last two years. In 2016, the pair was also crowned champions of the Australian Open, the Indian Open and Chinese Open.
These achievements were followed by the All England title, which they won only two weeks before the start of the Indian Open.
“After All England, Kevin/Marcus became champions of the Indian Open. This shows that Kevin/Marcus are playing toward their stability level,” said men’s doubles coach Herry Irman Pierngadi.
In yesterday’s match, Kevin/Marcus were dominant from the first game with the score 7-6, 9-6 and then 11-6. Their quick style of play was their weapon to counter Ricky/Angga’s game.
In the second game, Kevin/Marcus played more offensively.
Ricky/Angga actually had opportunities to turn things round when they were only one point down at 7-8. However, the pair kept making individual mistakes that caused them to fall 8-11 down.
Kevin/Marcus displayed a solid attack and defense. Marcus, for example, twice slipped when attempting to return a shot. In both instances, Kevin helped his partner by hitting a powerful smash shot. They managed to play through the difficult patches and ended the game 21-15.
“We always enjoy every game. That is the key to our victory,” Kevin said as quoted by the Indonesian Badminton Association website.
Throughout the Indian Open, Kevin felt his stamina was draining away. He was also unfit for a few days because of a cough. However, the pair was determined to grab the title. “I didn’t want to hope for too much. Just enjoy every step,” he said.
After the Indian Open, Kevin/Marcus will face their next test at the 2017 Malaysian Open Super Series on April 4-9.
They will face Japanese pair Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi in the first round.
According to the BWF website, Kevin/Marcus are also registered to take part in the Singapore Open Super Series on April 11-16.
The women’s doubles and mixed doubles final also saw matches between pairs from the same countries, namely Japan and China, respectively. Women’s doubles pair Shiho Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto beat Naoko Fukuman/Kurumi Yonao 16-21, 21-19, 21-10.
Meanwhile, mixed doubles pair Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong won against Zheng Siwei/Chen Qingchen, 22-24, 21-14, 21-17.
The women’s singles category was won by host country athlete PV Sindhu, while the men’s singles title was taken by Viktor Axelsen from Denmark.
(DNA).
