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Kevin, Marcus secure gold at China Open
Indonesian men's doubles pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukomuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon have once again lifted the country's pride by securing the gold medal at the China Open as they thrashed their Japanese opponents Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda 21-17 and 21-9 in a match that lasted just 33 minutes.
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Solid prove: The world number one's men's doubles pair of Kevin Sanjaya Sukomuljo (right) and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (left) during the 2019 China Open held in Fuzhou, China on Saturday. (File) (The Jakarta Post/Courtesy of PBSI)
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orld number one badminton men’s doubles pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukomuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon once again proved their solidity by securing gold at the China Open after winning Sunday’s final in Fuzhou, China, defeating their Japanese opponents, currently ranked fourth in the world, Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda, 21-17 and 21-9 in just 33 minutes.
It has been their fourth gold from the China Open. Kevin and Marcus were able to maintain their winning momentum after two victories in a row at the Denmark Open and France Open.
The Indonesian pair was left three points, 5-8 during the second game as their Japanese opponent managed to steal early points. However, the Kevin/Marcus then managed to outpace them and showed the opponent no mercy as they won the second game by 21-9.
"The Japanese pair had lost their focus and got sloppy after winning the early scores. Kevin manages to slow them down," Marcus said as quoted by www.badmintonindonesia.org on Sunday
Indonesia Badminton Association secretary-general Achmad Budiarto had earlier praised Kevin and Marcus, affectionately known as the Minions, as the only Indonesian shuttlers whose are faster than the other top players.
“Despite the speed, the Minions have a swift shot and can deploy the ball into difficult positions for their opponents,” he said earlier.
The Minions were also the only ones who could make it as far as Sunday’s final as the other Indonesian shuttlers bowed out in the quarters. They were men’s singles player Jonatan Christie, who lost to Danish shuttler Anders Antonsen 21-16 and 21-11, the other men’s doubles pair Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, who were beaten by their Malaysian opponents Aaron Chia and Sooh Wooi Yik 21-13 and 22-20.
The world number seven pair Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti were also defeated in the quarters by their Japanese opponents Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Hishagino 21-15 and 21-18.
