D

enmark Open champions Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon are thirsty for more titles as they seek to dominate the French Open badminton tournament this week.

World number ones Kevin and Marcus outclassed Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan 21-15, 21-16 in Odense, Denmark, on Sunday. It was the first Denmark Open title for the pair and also the first for Indonesia since 2009, which came courtesy of men’s singles player Simon Santoso.

The latest title was the pair’s seventh individual event victory this year. Prior to the Odense outing, they won the Daihatsu Indonesia Masters, India Open, All England, Blibli Indonesia Open, 2018 Asian Games and Japan Open. They also contributed to Team Indonesia’s victory in the Badminton Asia Team Championships.

“We are really happy to win a title again. However, we won’t to get carried away as we’re switching our focus to the French Open,” Kevin said in a statement.

The tournament will be held at Pierre de Coubertin Stadium in Paris on Tuesday.

Playing in this year’s French Open has extra meaning for Kevin and Marcus, who failed to partake in the event last year because of Marcus’ injury, which forced him to return to Indonesia.

In Denmark, Kevin and Marcus were the only Indonesians to reach the finals — and win — after their compatriots were defeated in the semifinals. Favorite mixed pair Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir lost to Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China, while women’s doubles duo Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu was defeated by Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan in the semifinals.

“I think we were meant to win [in Odense]. Every competition in each country has its own character. Some courts may be too drifty, while some others have slow or fast shuttles,” Marcus said.

“We felt comfortable playing in Denmark; without too much drift, so we could control the game perfectly.”

The pair said they were glad they had been able to make amends for their loss in the 2017 edition. At that time, Kevin and Marcus finished as runners-up after losing to Zhang Nan and Liu Cheng of China.

Kevin recalled that when he and Marcus found out they would play against the Japanese shuttlers — who are known for their perseverance — in the Denmark Open final, the pair prepared themselves for a long battle.

“It’s never easy playing against Kamura and Sonoda. We [stand] head-to-head with them. We had to make extra preparations prior to the final match,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei won the women’s singles title, Zheng and Huang won in the mixed doubles event, Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan won the women’s doubles category and Kento Momota of Japan won the men’s singles title.