Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon has already won two titles in two tournaments at this early point in the year.
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AFP Photo/Sajjad Hussain
Indonesian badminton players Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (right) and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo pose for pictures with their gold medals after winning the men\'s doubles final badminton match against Danish players Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2018 in New Delhi on Feb. 4.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The world’s top badminton men’s doubles pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon has already won two titles in two tournaments at this early point in the year. Great challenges await them, including the qualifying rounds for the Thomas Cup and the All England championships.
Kevin-Marcus, affectionately called “Minions” by their fans, won the India Masters tournament at New Delhi’s Siri Fort Stadium, beating Danish pair Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-14, 21-16 in Sunday’s final. This was the pair’s third consecutive title in the championship, which was part of the Superseries tournament in past years. It was also the pair’s second title in 2018, after they won the Indonesia Masters last week.
“I am happy that we could score a hat trick in this tournament. We started 2018 well. Hopefully, we can perform even better and win. We need to get ready for a tight tournament schedule,” Marcus said.
Following Kevin-Marcus’s victories in seven 2017 tournaments, national badminton men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi said that he wanted to assess his shuttlers beyond their technical capabilities. Herry said that their ability to maintain their motivation and keep on winning was more important for Kevin-Marcus right now.
He said that Kevin-Marcus had passed their early tests by winning at the Indonesia and India Masters. Herry, who is currently in Alor Setar in Malaysia, said that the bigger challenge for the pair would be to retain their titles, especially in the All England that will be held on March 14-18 this year.
“Just because they are champions now, they must not lose their motivation to be champions again,” said Herry while accompanying Kevin and Marcus at the Indonesia Masters. Kevin cited world championships such as the All England and the Asian Games as targets.
However, before the All England, Kevin and Marcus, who were first paired in 2015, will join other badminton athletes in the 2018 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Alor Setar on Feb. 6-11. The event was a qualifier round for the Thomas and Uber Cups. This will be an event for Kevin and Marcus to prove that they are as reliable in doubles’ tournaments as they are in singles’ tournaments. Kevin-Marcus is the top-ranking men’s doubles pair in Indonesia.
Other than winning the men’s doubles gold in the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, they have yet to participate in team championships. In the 2016 Thomas Cup, Indonesia was represented in tje men’s doubles by Hendra Setiawan-Mohammad Ahsan and Angga Pratama-Ricky Karanda Suwardi. Kevin and Marcus were there, but they were defeated in the qualifying round.
In the 2017 Sudirman Cup, Kevin and Marcus played twice and won only once. They were defeated in the qualifying round.
Greysia-Apriani win
Women’s doubles pair Greysia Polii-Apriani Rahayu also won in India, defeating Thai pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-18, 21-15. Meanwhile, mixed doubles pair Praveen Jordan-Melati Daeva Oktavianti was defeated by Danes Mathias Christiansen-Christina Pedersen 14-21, 15-21.
This was Greysia-Apriani’s third title since they were first paired in mid-2017. They also won titles in the Thailand Masters and the French Open in 2017.
As quoted on the Indonesian Badminton Association’s (PBSI) website, Greysia said that she and Apriani won in India after reviewing their defeat by Japanese pair Misaki Matsumoto-Ayaka Takahashi at the Indonesia Masters. Their over-eagerness to win became a boomerang in the end and disrupted their focus throughout the match. Greysia, who has had a persistent cough since the Indonesia Masters finals, said that they should have been able to find and maintain a good rhythm, which was what they were doing in India.
For Apriani, the championship title served as a lesson of the tight competition in world championships. As her opponents often attacked her, Apriani felt the need to maintain her concentration.
From India, the men’s and women’s doubles teams will join other athletes in Alor Setar. Having arrived from Jakarta on Saturday night, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and other athletes were seen practicing at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium on Sunday in photographs uploaded to the PBSI’s official Twitter account.
Placed in Group D with India, the Philippines and Maldives, the Indonesian men’s doubles shuttlers will face the Maldives on Tuesday evening (6/2). The Indonesian women’s doubles will face Singapore in Group Z on Tuesday morning.
