TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Kevin-Marcus duo clinches gold in all-Indonesian Denmark Open final
Kevin Sanjaya Sukomuljo and Marcus Gideon Fernaldi have secured the gold medal in the Denmark Open, beating their Indonesian counterparts of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in straight sets.
Change Size
Continued dominance: Kevin Sanjaya Sukomuljo (left) and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon pose for a photograph after securing gold in the men's doubles competition of the 2019 Denmark Open on Sunday. In the final, they beat fellow Indonesian duo of Hendra Setiawan and Muhammad Ahsan in straight sets of 21-14 and 21-13 in 28 minutes. (The Jakarta Post/Courtesy of PBSI)
K
evin Sanjaya Sukomuljo and Marcus Gideon Fernaldi secured the gold medal in the Denmark Open on Sunday, beating their Indonesian counterparts of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in straight sets.
The world number one men’s doubles pair needed just 28 minutes to end the final in their favor with a score of 21-14 and 21-13.
“We are very grateful for this victory. We have been facing tough opponents from the start,” Marcus said as quoted by www.badmintonindonesia.org.
The final marks the pair’s fifth win against Ahsan/Hendra, currently world number two, after they had also prevailed at the Indonesia Masters, Indonesia Open, Japan Open and China Open.
“This has become an interesting trend, all Indonesian finals. We hope we can maintain this trend, so at least we have [already secured] a medal once we reach the final round,” Kevin added.
Commenting on the match, Ahsan acknowledged that the Kevin/Marcus pair had been able to steer the games their way right from the beginning. The combination of speed and good technique, he added, had left Ahsan/Hendra with little room to catch up and assemble lethal fightbacks.
“Kevin/Marcus have been playing really well, as always. We faced enormous pressure right from the start,” Ahsan said.
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) secretary-general Achmad Budiharto said both pairs actually possessed qualities of their own. The Kevin/Marcus duo, for example, was widely known to possess speed and a lethal combination of defensive and offensive strategies. As for Ahsan/Hendra, Achmad went on, they possessed maturity, mastering the skill to wait for the right time to create a lethal strike.
“They have been able to develop their personal skills among the elite shuttlers, excellent qualities that would come after enduring countless hours of rigorous training and tournaments,” he told The Jakarta Post.
