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Marcus, Kevin exit All England after shocking defeat
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Indonesian men's doubles badminton players Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (left) and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon. (PBSI/PBSI)
D
efending champions Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo stopped their All England journey after a shockingly stunning defeat by Zhang Nan and Liu Cheng of China on Wednesday.
The Indonesian pair had to play for 1 hour and 7 minutes before losing 21-19, 20-22, 21-17. The loss brought the two pairs’ head-to-head record to 5-2 for Marcus and Kevin.
It was truly an off moment for the world number one pair as Marcus also received a red card for after taking a 20-second break.
“I’m not sure why [I was handed the red card]. They said I was late [re-entering the court], but I was with him [Kevin] all along.
“It surely benefited our opponents; they were awarded with one point [from my blunder],” said Marcus as quoted by the Indonesian Badminton Association's official website, badmintonindonesia.org.
The defeat scrapped the Indonesians’ chance for a hat trick for the title as they won the tournament in 2017 and 2018.
Marcus said he personally did not feel 100 percent in the Wednesday battle. “I was not in my A-game today, but our opponents were. I was fully aware that we carried the burden, but I didn’t feel I was ready [for the tournament]; the preparation was a bit off.”
