The Indonesian national badminton team secured two gold medals at the recently finished 2019 Denmark Open through the victories of the men’s doubles pair of Kevin Sukomuljo and Marcus Gideon Fernaldi and the mixed doubles’ pair of Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti.

The “Minions” pair of Kevin Sanjaya Sukomuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon beat their Indonesian counterparts, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, in straight games in Sunday’s final round

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, 21-13.

“We are very grateful for this victory. We have been facing tough opponents from the start,” Marcus said as quoted by badmintonindonesia.org.

The final marks the pair’s fifth win against Ahsan and 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 and 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 and 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.

Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) secretary-general Achmad Budiharto said both pairs actually possessed qualities of their own. The Kevin and Marcus duo, for example, was widely known to possess speed and a lethal combination of defensive and offensive strategies. As for Ahsan and Hendra, Achmad said, 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.

Mixed doubles pair Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti faced an uphill battle taking on world number two pair Wang Yi Lyu and Huang Dong Ping of China, but emerged victorious, winning 21-18, 18-21, 21-19.

Having won the first game, Praveen and Melati, who are currently ranked sixth in the world, were overcome by their opponents in the second. The third game began as a tightly fought affair, with the pairs battling for ascendency.

Wang and Wuang gained the lead in the middle of the game before Praveen and Melati fought back to tie things up at 18-18. The Indonesian pair then took advantage of their momentum to close out the game.

“Praveen and Melati mastered all the necessary techniques to win the match. Praveen, for example, possesses a fast smash and Melati kept up with him throughout the match. I am happy for them, as they have finally won a Super 750 category tournament,” sports presenter Yuni Kartika said.

Yuni, a former professional shuttler, said she expected the tournament to solidify the pair’s skills and mentality so they could fill the void left after the retirement of legendary mixed doubles pair Tontowi Yahya and Lilyana Natsir.

Praveen and Melati reached the final after defeating Wang Chi Lin and Cheng Chi Ya of Chinese Taipei in straight games 21-12, 21-12 in only 27 minutes.

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