efending champions Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo will have to play a do-or-die group match in the 2018 BWF World Tour Finals on Friday evening after losing on Thursday.
The world number one pair was stunned 21-18, 24-22 by world number two pair Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China in Thursday’s second Group A match in Guangzhou, China. Out of three qualifying matches, Marcus and Kevin won one and lost one.
In hopes of reaching the semifinals, the Indonesians will have to win the decisive third group match on Friday against another Chinese pair, Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong. A win will give them a better chance of advancing to the next round.
“I wasn’t feeling well today [Thursday], I felt something wrong in the back of my neck that sort of hindered me from doing smashes. I started to feel unwell when we played against the Danish pair [Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen on Wednesday],” Marcus told badmintonindonesia.org, referring to their group match win.
Indonesian pair coach Aryono Miranat said Marcus and Kevin’s chances of advancing were getting slimmer because of the loss and Marcus being unwell. “Marcus will get proper treatment tomorrow [Friday] morning. Hopefully, it’s not serious.”
The final decision on which pair will be going to the semifinals will also have to wait for the result of a match between Astrup and Rasmussen and Li and Liu on Friday.
Friday’s matches at the 2018 BWF World Tour Finals are streamed live on indonesia.sportsfix.tv, starting at 10 p.m. local time. (nkn)
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