T

he Indonesian favorites have their rackets and wits ready for the All England Open battle, but they will face more than just competitors starting on Wednesday.

The All England, the oldest badminton tournament, will be the second event to test a new serve rule, which mandates that “the whole of the shuttle shall be below 1.15 meters from the surface of the court at the instant it is being hit by server’s racket.”

The rule, which was first tested at last week’s German Open, had caused confusion among Indonesian players and they often committed service faults. As a result, distracted Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto were only able to finish as runner-ups in the men’s doubles.

World-class players, such as Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, have criticized the new rule, questioning the timing to test it at an event as important as the All England Open.

This year, the All England sees 2017 champions Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon in the men’s doubles as well as three-time title holders Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir as the favorites in the mixed doubles. They are both the top seeds in their respective categories.

The Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), however, is just aiming for one title at the 2018 event — to at least keep the tradition since the 2013 victory by Tontowi and Liliyana.

Despite the likely seeding, Indonesian men’s doubles coach Herry I. Piernghadi said he did not have a vision regarding Marcus and Kevin’s chance in the title hunt, especially with the new service rule.

“I can’t really say what the odds are for Marcus and Kevin because of the new serve rule, which strongly depends on the opinion of the service judge,” Herry told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Marcus and Kevin as well as Tontowi and Liliyana will play with the new rule for the first time.

In the first round on Wednesday, Kevin and Marcus are set to face compatriots Angga Pratama and Rian Agung Saputro. If they advance, they may or may not face another compatriot pair, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, who face Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in the first round.

Should things go well for Kevin and Marcus, they would likely face seventh-seeded pair Chen Hung Ling and Wang Chi-Lin of Taiwan as well as third-seeded pair Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China, among other top seeds.

Herry said Kevin and Marcus should really be careful with their serves in order to stay on-track toward the title.

“If Kevin and Marcus cover their serves, they won’t face many troubles at All England,” Herry was quoted as saying by badmintonindonesia.org. “We invited a service judge to the training camp [before leaving for the All England], and the pair recorded up to two faults, which is normal. Let’s just see how well they play at All England.”

Meanwhile, in their bid for a fourth title, Tontowi and Liliyana will face Russia’s Evgenij Dremin and Evgenia Dimova in the first round. In the following rounds, should they advance, Tontowi and Liliyana will have the chance to play against eighth-seeded pair Zhang Nan and Li Yinhui of China as well as third-seeded pair Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Taiwan, among other top seeds.

Badminton observer Yuni Kartika said besides the two pairs, possible surprises were expected from Greysia Polii and Apriani Rahayu in the women’s doubles as well as Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie in the men’s singles.

In the history of the All England Open, Indonesia has collected a total of 45 titles since its first win in 1959, which was by Tan Joe Hok in the men’s singles.

The men’s doubles category has brought the most wins for Indonesia with 19 titles. Tjun Tjun and Johan Wahjudi still hold the record for Indonesia with six titles, won in 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980.