Over the past few years, Russian badminton's performance has been markedly better, the achievement by Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova who won bronze at the 2012 London Olympic Games being a case
in point.

At the recent Djarum Indonesia Open badminton championship, Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov did their country proud, which for most Indonesian people is known more for its chess players than shuttlers.

The unranked men's doubles pair moved forward against the odds before their venture was halted by local heroes ' and eventual champions ' Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the
semifinals.

'It was a big success for Russian badminton that we got a bronze medal at this level,' Sozonov said during a post-match press conference on Saturday.

'It is the first time in history, so we are really happy. I think next competition we'll get better and next year we will win this tournament,' he said.

While managing to force the Indonesian pair into a rubber game play, Sozonov lauded their opponents' ability to surge back in the third game.

'The first [game] was theirs, but in the second game we played better. But they rebounded in the third game,' Sozonov said.

En route to the semifinals, the world No. 12 Russian pair humiliated world No. 2 Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen of Denmark in a straight match in the first round, outshined Chris Langridge/Peter Mills of England in a rubber match in the second round and outclassed world No. 22 Chris Adcock/Andrew Ellis of England in the quarterfinals.

Unfortunately, they floundered against Ahsan/Hendra, who found extra energy from the support for the large crowd at the Istora Senayan.

The Indonesian pair defeated them 21-10, 20-22, 21-14.

Sozonov said the meeting with Boe/Mogense was a different battle compared to the Indonesians.

'It was a different kind of match, facing the Indonesians and the Danes. European badminton is certainly different to Asia,' he said.

Ivanov said that Asian shuttlers had a great arsenal of shots with different tactics compared to the
Europeans.

'So, [taking part in the Indonesia Open] has been important for us.'

The Russian pair said they were in awe of the vibrancy of the home crowd.

'The audience was just amazing, they are so loud. We would love to come back,' said Sozonov.

In terms of badminton in Russia, the pair said the sport had become more popular thanks to the hard work and support of the national badminton federation.

The pair hoped one day Indonesia and Russia could work together and learn more about the sport from Indonesian coaches.

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