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RI men’s doubles to fight for world title
Warming up: Shuttlers practice at the venue used for the 2017 BWF Badminton World Championship
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span class="inline inline-center">Warming up: Shuttlers practice at the venue used for the 2017 BWF Badminton World Championship. The world championship runs from Monday to Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland.(Courtesy of PBSI)
The BWF World Championship returns this year to Glasgow, Scotland, and the Indonesian team has high hopes that it will bring home titles.
Herry Iman Pierngadi, Indonesia’s coach in men’s doubles, said his shuttlers were up for the challenge to win a title at the event, which was skipped last year on account of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“The Indonesian Badminton Association [PBSI] has targeted us to win a title. It’s a done deal — we’re ready,” said Herry, who coaches Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, Angga Pratama and Ricky Karanda Suwardi as well as Mohammad Ahsan and Rian Agung Saputro.
The event started on Monday and ends on Sunday.
“All pairs are ready for the showdown. But, due to a drawing, Marcus and Kevin have the biggest chance to get the title,” said Herry.
Indonesia has sent 12 shuttlers to Glasgow, aiming at a men’s doubles title or a mixed doubles title in the tournament.
Despite the confidence, the three pairs had a bumpy road prior to the tournament.
Marcus and Kevin nailed a hat trick in Super Series events and a Super Series Premier in the early year, but in June, Kevin got hit by an injury.
Angga and Ricky showed slow progress, which forced Herry to give a hard warning to the two.
Meanwhile, Ahsan and Rian, who won the 2017 China International Challenge, seemed to experience trouble in reaching the world’s top 10 rankings.
Nevertheless, Herry said he trusted his players.
“All pairs are in very good condition. Kevin is back to normal — no more injury.
“Angga and Ricky, who were a bit low, are now up and running — I saw that they’ve elevated their playing and have changed their style. They used to be more defensive, now they’re more aggressive. I’m looking forward to their performance in the battle.
“I’m optimistic,” said Herry.
In the 2015 world’s, host Indonesia bagged a title from Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan in men’s doubles.
Apart from the men’s doubles pairs, Indonesia has also sent hopefuls Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, a third-seed here, as well as seven-seeds Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto in mixed doubles.
