Indonesian men’s doubles pair Kevin Sanjaja Sukamuljo (left) and Marcus Feraidi Gideon pose for photographers during the awards ceremony after their victory in the men\'s doubles final against Japan\'s Takuto Inoue and Yuki Kaneko at the Super series Japan Open in Tokyo on Sept. 24, 2017.
TOKYO, SUNDAY – Men’s badminton doubles pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon won the Japan Open title on Sunday (24/9). The victory is further motivation and momentum for them as they look to compete in other tournaments in Europe.
Playing at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Kevin/Marcus beat host pair Takuto Inoue/Yuki Kaneko 21-12, 21-15. The final concluded quickly, finishing in 29 minutes.
According to Kevin, winning the Japan Open was very important, and marked the pair’s revival. “We had been losing matches before. This increases our confidence. This title is very important to us,” Kevin said, as quoted by the PBSI website.
Marcus did not think they could win against the players from the host nation. “In their previous matches, our opponents played well and safely. Their defense is not easily broken. It was likely that they were nervous, so they were rushed in their play,” said Marcus.
The first game lasted only 12 minutes. The Indonesian pair was able to win point after point easily. Not many rallies occurred in the game. Kevin/Marcus also managed to see out the second game well. Inoue’s net shot marked the Indonesian pair’s victory.
This was the third meeting between Kevin/Marcus and Inoue/Kaneko. In the last two matches between the two in Taiwan (2015) and India (2017), Kevin/Marcushad always emerged the winners.
Kaneko said that Kevin/Marcus played much better. “They were able to change their game tactics and strategy quickly, while we were unable to escape the pressure,” he said.
For Kevin/Marcus, the Japan Open is their fourth Superseries/Superseries Premier title this year. After grabbing a title in England (All England), India and Malaysia, Kevin/Marcus saw a dip in form.
The pair, who is nicknamed “Minions” by their supporters, was always stopped in their tracks by Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (Denmark), which happened last week in Singapore, Australia (Sudirman Cup) and South Korea. Only in Japan did Kevin/Marcus finally manage to handle the pressure.
Kevin/Marcus went through to the final after beating their toughest rivals Boe/Mogensen, 21-15, 21-14. Men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi said that Boe/Mogensen was the most difficult opponent for Kevin/Marcus. “When we played in Korea, the Kevin/Marcus’s performance was also disrupted because they were suffering from the flu, which caused their energy to drop,” Herry said.
Former national player and coach Christian Hadinata expressed his appreciation for Kevin/Marcus. “Having been beaten numerous times by Boe/Mogensen, Kevin/Marcus showed strong motivation to rise back up,” he said.
According to Christian, maintaining their motivation remains a task for Kevin/Marcus. They have to be ready for the next tournaments in Denmark and France. “Playing in Denmark, the host athletes will definitely not want to be humiliated,” he said.
In the other categories, Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) won the men’s singles, while Carolina Marin (Spain) won the women’s singles title.
