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Marcus and Kevin eye Dubai title as Tontowi and Liliyana stopped
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Indonesia's world number one pair, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (left) and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, celebrates as they advance to the finals of the BWF Dubai World Superseries 2017, on Saturday. (PBSI/PBSI)
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orld number one Marcus Fernadi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia secured a final spot in the BWF Dubai World Superseries 2017, while compatriots Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir failed to advance on Saturday.
Men’s doubles pair Marcus and Kevin beat Japan’s Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda, who defeated the Indonesians in the group stage, outclassing the Japanese 21-10, 18-21, 21-16 in the semifinals.
“It was a tough match, especially as we were already in the knockout stage. But it’s great to have another final; this will be our ninth finals [in the Superseries] this year,” said Marcus in a statement.
The finals will see Marcus and Kevin, who are seeking their seventh Superseries title in 2017, go up against China’s Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan, who earned a finals ticket by ousting Denmark’s Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen.
Meanwhile, another Indonesian hopeful pair, Tontowi and Liliyana, lost to world number one duo Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen of China 21-12, 21-17 in Saturday’s semifinals.
“We didn’t do our best today, especially me, as I was less aggressive than usual,” said Tontowi, who with Liliyana is ranked third in the world.
