Ahead of the Tokyo Summer Olympics, all eyes are on Indonesian men’s doubles pairs Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan.

Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) head of development and achievement Susy Susanti has high expectations for her protégés, hoping that they continue Indonesia’s tradition of winning gold in badminton at the Olympics.

Only at the 2012 London Olympics did Indonesia come home without any gold medals. The team, however, made amends at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Liliyana Natsir and Tontowi Ahmad took home the mixed doubles crown.

Indonesia has three men’s doubles pairs in the top five of the world rankings, namely top-ranked Marcus and Kevin, nicknamed “the Minions”, second-ranked Ahsan and Hendra, nicknamed “the Daddies”, and fifth-ranked Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

“We don’t mean to precede the destiny, but we’re [confident] about sending [at least two men’s doubles pairs to the Tokyo Olympics],” Susy said recently.

Marcus and Kevin, who have been at the top of the world rankings for the last 121 weeks, strengthened their position by defending the Indonesia Masters title in Jakarta a week ago.

They outclassed their seniors, Ahsan and Hendra, in the final match, and in doing so also improved their head-to-head with 11 victories in 13 meetings against the veteran pair.

The PBSI appears spoiled for choice, with all pairs determined to keep Indonesia on top.

Oftentimes, when Marcus and Kevin hit their low, Ahsan and Hendra are ready to fill the void.

This happened last year when the Minions stumbled early in three important tournaments — the All England, the World Championship and the World Tour Finals.

Despite its dominant showings, Indonesia would be wise to avoid complacency, with other countries showing that no side is unbeatable.

Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe in particular have become the kryptonite for Marcus and Kevin, with the Indonesians losing five consecutive matches to the Japanese.

The roles are reversed when Endo and Watanabe face Ahsan and Hendra, as the Japanese lost to them five times last year.

“We still think [that Marcus and Kevin are the best]. Even though we’ve won over them, it still feels different. We will try our best to be the best, like them, [and we will] keep trying to find something new,” Endo said as quoted by badmintonindonesia.org.

Hendra too expressed adoration toward the Minions, saying they were the most consistent duo, both in speed and power.

Another strong pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, applauded Marcus and Kevin for their ability to deal with pressure in key moments. As 2019 All England finalists, Aaron and Soh, currently ranked eighth in the world, have managed to test both Marcus-Kevin and Ahsan-Hendra in past matchups.

Men’s doubles player Satwiksairaj Rankireddy of India praised the consistency of Ahsan and Hendra — the pair managed to reach 11 finals last years, winning four of them.

Despite the praise, Hendra said that he and his partner just wanted to focus on each tournament in the buildup to the Tokyo Games.

Clinching a spot at the Olympics would mark Ahsan’s and Hendra’s third time qualifying.

Previously, Ahsan competed at the 2012 London Olympics with Bona Septano, while Hendra bagged 2008 Beijing Olympics gold with Markis Kido.

The Daddies made their Olympic debut as a pair in 2016, when they lost in the group stage.

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