Markis Kido JP/J.ADIGUNA
Top Indonesian badminton men’s doubles pair Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan were taken to three sets in the first round of the All England Open Super Series in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Markis and Hendra, the latter on the mend from a recent bout of dengue fever, defeated Japanese pair Naoki Kawamae and Shoji Sato 21-15, 16-21, 21-18.
On Thursday, the world No. 3 pairing, and third seeds at the event, will face more Japanese opposition in the form of Hiroyuki Endo and Yoshiteru Hirobe, who beat Englishmen Andrew Ellis and Dean George 21-19, 21-14 in the first round.
“The Japanese doubles shuttlers have improved to become world-class competitors,” coach Chafidz Yusuf, who has handled Markis and Hendra since they turned professional, told The Jakarta Post Wednesday.
“They used to play defensively, but now they’re combining good defense with aggressive offense. Our guys need to be on the alert for that. Markis and Hendra also need to maintain their on-court focus when piling up the points.”
Hendra Setiawan
Another of the country’s title hopefuls, men’s singles fourth seed Taufik Hidayat, also advanced to second round after chalking up a 17-21, 21-11, 21-12 win over Yun Hu of Hong Kong.
“I was still adapting in the first set and hadn’t found my rhythm, but I managed to settle down in the second and third sets,” Taufik told the Post.
The world No. 5 next faces either Eric Pang of the Netherlands or Andrew Smith of England, against both of whom he holds a winning record.
Also in the men’s singles, Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro defeated Du Pengyu of China 21-19, 21-10. On Thursday, world No. 6 Sony takes on world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who beat India’s Chetan Anand 21-15, 21-16.
However, in the men’s doubles, sixth seeds Alvent Yulianto Chandra and Hendra Aprida Gunawan were downed 21-18, 21-9 by China’s Chai Biao and Zhang Nan.
In the women’s singles, Adriyanti Firdasari went out 22-20, 21-18 to Wang Chen of Hong Kong.
