Defending champions Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia are not likely to have an easy time retaining their title as they have been put into the “deadly” Group A of the 2018 Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) World Tour Finals tournament in China, which starts on Wednesday.

Marcus and Kevin, the world No. 1 pair, are to play against Chinese pairs Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong (No. 10) and Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen (No. 2), as well as Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (No. 7), in the men’s doubles group stage of the season finale tournament.

Marcus and Fernaldi must stay alert as Han and Zhou beat the Indonesians in their two previous meetings.

The Indonesian pair’s coach, Aryono Miranat, said he was not worried about Marcus and Kevin’s opponents in the group stage.

“All of their opponents are equally tough to beat and they have to be aware of it. This is a season-ending tournament that features the world’s top eight players, so it is indeed a demanding round,” said Aryono as quoted by badmintonindonesia.org.

He said the two losses could motivate Marcus and Kevin to play better when they meet the Chinese pair. “Marcus and Kevin need to be calmer in critical moments.”

Go to indonesia.sportsfix.tv to watch free streaming of the finals tournament, starting on Wednesday. (nkn)