It was a Sunday feast for host Indonesia after its shuttlers collected one title and two runner-up positions in the 2019 Daihatsu Indonesia Masters in Jakarta.

World number-one pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, affectionately called “minions” by fans, outclassed compatriots Hendra Setiawan and Muhammad Ahsan 21-17, 21-11 to defend their Indonesia Masters men’s doubles title.

“We applied a very fast pace throughout the match, so we could not afford even a slight mistake. Today, we got lucky because we are often successful at netting to collect points,” Marcus said.

Beaten by their juniors, Hendra and Ahsan, who are called “Team Daddies” by their fans for being fathers, conceded their inferiority against the top pair’s flawless netting.

“We were behind in speed and defense […] We were under pressure because they were always in offensive mode and they were truly fast,” Hendra said.

Ahsan added: “It’s typical Kevin and Marcus — fast and deadly.”

In the meantime, retiring Liliyana Natsir had to face her failure to win one last title after she and partner Tontowi Ahmad were defeated by China’s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong in a 56-minute battle.

After fighting through three games, the Indonesian pair lost 21-19, 19-21 and 16-21 to the world number one. Liliyana and Tontowi failed to exploit the momentum they had when leading 18-14 in the second game, making unnecessary easy mistakes that were utilized by the Chinese to force the decider.

The last game was fully controlled by Zheng and Huang even though the Indonesians had tried to put pressure on their opponents. Liliyana’s return failed to cross the net, ending the game and giving the Chinese pair their victory.

“We had a chance to win the match, but we made several mistakes in a row during the last part of the second game. However, we did our best,” she told journalist in a post-match interview.

Zheng complimented his opponents, saying that the Indonesian pair had really saved the best for the last, giving all they had in their last match.

Tontowi, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to his partner for showing what a true fighting spirit looked like.

He is set to be paired-up with Winny Oktavina Kandaw after Liliyana’s retirement.

“I hope I can use the things [Liliyana] taught me with my new partner,” he said.

Meanwhile, Danish shuttler Anders Antonsen won his first major title without the support of a coach, who was absent because of internal issues in Denmark’s national team.

The 21-year-old succeed gave a stall performance that comprised a combination of effective attacks and defensive plays, preventing first seed Kento Momota of Japan from clinching the top podium. Antonsen beat Momota 21-16, 14-21, 21-16.

The Danish shuttler, who is currently ranked world number 20, said the title meant a great deal to him.

“I have always dreamt about winning a [major] title. It’s crazy, I am finally here, I have finally done it. I can’t describe how good it feels right now,” he said.

Former world number one Saina Nehwal of India enjoyed victory in the women’s singles category after her opponent in the final, two-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain, was forced to retire at 4-10 in the first game over an injury.

In the women’s doubles event, Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahasi defended their title after beating South Korea’s Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong 21-19, 21-15.

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