Surgent Indonesian badminton mixed doubles pair Fran Kurniawan Teng and Pia Zebadiah Bernadet have been gifted an easier field at the All England Open Super Series with the withdrawal Tuesday of the fifth seeds.
Danish pair Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen, the world No. 8, opted out of the event that kicked off Tuesday in Birmingham, citing Nielsen’s nagging injury.
“Fran and Pia are a young pair with much confidence,” Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) secretary-general Yacob Rusdianto told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
“Looking back at their intensity [in previous competitions], I’m optimistic they can pull some surprises, despite never having won a Super Series event.”
In the second round of the Hong Kong Super Series last November, Fran and Pia upset first seeds and world No. 3 Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung from South Korea in straight sets, 21-19, 21-19.
The Koreans were gold medallists at the Beijing Olympics.
Fran, 24, and Pia, 21, who last August won the New Zealand Grand Prix championship, are making their debut at the centennial edition of the All England.
The world No. 17 pair face their first opponents, unseeded English pair Anthony Clark and Heather Olver, on Wednesday.
“Clark is a highly regarded singles shuttler in England and across Europe,” Yacob said.
“Thus, the English mixed doubles pair shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
Clark had a successful 12-year run with Donna Kellogg as the European mixed doubles champions.
Following Kellogg’s retirement last year, Clark first played with Olver at the Malaysia Open Super Series in January, where they were stopped in the second round by compatriots Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork.
Clark will also play in the men’s doubles with Robertson at the All England.
If Fran and Pia makes it into Thursday’s second round, they will face either Sheng Mu Lee and Yu Chin Chien of Taiwan or Stiliyan Markarski and Diana Dimova of Bulgaria.
Should they go on to the quarterfinals, they could face the Lee pair, seeded third at this event.
Two other Indonesian mixed doubles pairs are in the draw at the world’s most prestigious badminton championships: second seeds Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir, and eighth seeds Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa.
Meanwhile, Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Maria Kristin Yulianti has withdrawn from the women’s singles draw at the All England following her grandfather’s recent demise.
