Indonesia’s badminton stars Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon.
ODENSE, SUNDAY – Indonesia’s badminton stars Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon have maintained their winning streak across seven championships throughout 2018. The couple, lovably called “minions” by their fans due to their seemingly endless energy despite their small statures, reaffirmed their position as the world’s best men’s doubles pair by snatching gold at the 2018 Denmark Open.
Kevin and Marcus won their gold after defeating Japanese pair Keigo Sonoda and Takeshi Kamura, 21-15, 21-16, in just 36 minutes at the Odense Sports Park, Odense, Denmark, on Sunday (21/10/2018).
For Kevin and Marcus, this was their sixth win in 10 matches against Sonoda and Kamura. Kevin and Marcus also defeated Sonoda and Kamura in the 2018 Asian Games.
Former Indonesian shuttler Christian Hadinata showered Kevin and Marcus with praise. “As the world’s top pair, it is understandable that they would give their best. For Kevin and Marcus, there is a demand to win,” Christian said in Jakarta.
Throughout the year, Kevin and Marcus have reached seven finals out of the 10 tournaments that they participated in. They were unbeatable in all seven of the finals, including the Asian Games, the All England and the Indonesian Open. Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi said that Kevin and Marcus had accomplished all targets the association set out for them. “They should just focus on their personal targets now. They wish to win in all the tournaments they are in,” he said.
On Sunday’s match, Kevin and Marcus were consistently on top since the first game. Despite lagging behind 3 to 6, Kevin and Marcus soon scored several equalizers and brought the score to 8-8. Two failed smashes from the Japanese pair helped bring the score to 11-8 for Kevin-Marcus. Afterward, Kevin and Marcus sped ahead and were unbeatable until the match ended.
Many times, Kevin and Marcus effectively countered their opponents’ attacks. They depended on their own speed and aggressiveness to put pressure on their opponents. At a decisive moment, the Indonesian pair needed just one strong smash to end the match. Kamura’s out-of-bounds hit sealed Indonesia’s victory, 21-15, 21-16.
This was Kevin and Marcus’ first win in Denmark. Last year, they reached the finals but were defeated by China’s Zhang Nan and Liu Cheng, 16-21, 24-22 and 19-21. In 2016, the pair only reached the semifinals.
The Denmark Open is one of five Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour 750 tournaments that the world’s top 10 pairs and top 15 singles players have to participate in. In line with regulations, the
world’s top players are required to participate in five Super 750 tournaments and three Super 1000 tournaments in the BWF 2018 calendar. Other than the Denmark Open, Kevin-Marcus are scheduled to compete in the French Open next week as well as the China Open and the Hong Kong Open in November.
Maintaining performance
Christian said that he would remind Kevin and Marcus to maintain their performance in order to reach the peak of the most prestigious championships. Christian said that the pair should adhere to strict training programs and set victory targets in several championships. Kevin and Marcus are Indonesia’s only representatives in the finals of Denmark Open. Despite the pride, their victory shows that Indonesia has a limited number of mainstay athletes.
Christian said that more men’s doubles athletes should be prepared. “Ideally, there are four pairs in men’s doubles. If the same pair wins again and again, then there’s something wrong with the regeneration process. It will only create a gap of achievements between Kevin-Marcus, Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto and the younger generation,” he said.
The finals of the Denmark Open set the stage between the world’s top shuttlers. In women’s singles, Taiwanese Tai Tzu Ying defeated Indian Saina Nehwal, 21-13, 13-21 and 21-6. Chinese mixed doubles pair Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong won over Thai pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai, 21-16, 21-13. In women’s doubles, Japanese Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota defeated their fellow Japanese Shiho Tanaka-Koharu Yanemoto, 21-19, 21-16. Meanwhile, Japanese Kento Momota defeated Taiwanese Chou Tien Chien, 22-20, 16-21, 21-15, in men’s singles. (DNA)
