The achievements of the men’s doubles team, nicknamed “Minions”, have made Indonesia proud. But it also shows that much work remains to be done before the next championship in 2018.
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BIRMINGHAM, SUNDAY — TheKevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon pair was the only Indonesian representative from the semifinals through to the final at All England 2018. The achievements of the men’s doubles team, nicknamed “Minions”, have made Indonesia proud. But it also shows that much work remains to be done before the next championship in 2018.
Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) achievements chairperson Susy Susanti said it was expected that Kevin-Marcus would make it through to the All England final. “We are confident of one doubles team, namely Kevin-Marcus. They were stable in every match and in their performance. Meanwhile, we have to improve the singles teams,” Susy said.
Kevin-Marcus was facing the Danish pair Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen Sunday (18/3) night in Birmingham, England. The match had not started when this news article was written. Kevin-Marcus is the defending champion and the world number one men’s doubles team. If they can win All England 2018, it would mark the 15th win for Kevin-Marcus.
Before the All England, the PBSI pinned its hopes on the mixed doubles aside from the men’s doubles. However, the best achievement of the three mixed doubles teams was Hafiz Faizal-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja and fourth seed Praveen Jordan-Debby Susanto reaching the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, top-seeded mixed doubles and the three-time All England champion (2012-2014) Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir lost in their second qualifying match to Hafiz-Gloria.
Susy said the mixed doubles were not stable or mature in their games. Particularly with regard to All England 2016 champion Praveen-Debby, Susy said the pair was not able to resist pressure from their opponent. The mixed doubles team also lacked communication on court, possibly because they were partnered only early this year.
After the All England 2018, the Indonesian teams will compete in the Thomas Cup, Uber Cup, the BWF World Championships and the Asian Games. PBSI was still looking for the best mixed doubles teams for the 2018 Asian Games in the next stage, following Tontowi-Liliyana.
Aside from the Asian Games, Indonesia aims to win the Thomas Cup that slipped through its grasp last year, when Indonesia lost to Denmark 2-3 in the final.
The Thomas Cup and Uber Cup will be held this year in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 20-27. The All England results show that a lot of work remains for Indonesia to improve ahead of the championships. “The singles teams need physical training, improvements in technique and playing style. We have to strengthen the singles teams,” said Susy.
Defeated
In the men’s doubles, Indonesia sent four pairs to the All England. Aside from Kevin-Marcus were Angga Pratama-Rian Agung Saputro, Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto and senior pair Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan.
Angga-Rian lost to Kevin-Marcus in the first qualifying match while Fajar-Rian lost to Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi (Malaysia) in the first qualifier. Hendra-Ahsan, the All England 2014 winner and the 2013 and 2015 champion, was stopped in the second qualifying stage.
Men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi, before departing to Europe for the championship, said the German Open and the All England were the competitions for selecting the Thomas Cup teams.
In addition to its doubles teams, Indonesia’s singles players were also defeated early in the qualifying matches. Jonatan Christie lost to fifth seed Son Wan Ho (South Korea) in the second qualifier while Anthony Sinisuka Ginting lost in the first qualifier to senior shuttler Tommy Sugiarto, and Tommy lost in the second qualifying match.
Fitriani, the only woman shuttler, reached only the second qualifying match and lost to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara.
Champions
While Indonesia still relied on veteran shuttlers at the All England 2018, Japan arrived with new players. For the first time since the All England was held since 1899, Japan won the mix doubles yesterday with Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino. The unseeded mixed doubles pair, ranked 48th in the world, defeated China’s fifth seed Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong 15-21, 22-20, 21-16.
Taiwan’s women’s singles player Tai Tzu Ying successfully defended her All England title, defeating Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 22-20 21-13. Men’s singles Shi Yuqi defeated his senior fellow player Lin Dan 21-19, 16-21, 21-9.