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Indonesia's Praveen-Melati duo eyes All England title after reaching final
The Minions aim for their third All England title, while Praveen and Melati are in pursuit of their first.
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Indonesian men's doubles shuttlers Marcus Ferlandi Gideo (left) and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (right) are also known as "the Minions." (PBSI/-)
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orld number one pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon of Indonesia is close to winning its third All England Open men's doubles title after reaching the final.
In the mixed doubles, Indonesia's Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti, a relatively new pair compared to the men's doubles duo, have also reached the final in the hunt for their first All England title.
In Sunday's final, Kevin and Markus – nicknamed “the Minions" by their fans – are to face sixth-seed pair Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe of Japan.
In the semifinals, Kevin and Markus defeated Lee Yang and Wang Chi Lin of Taiwan 21-18, 21-13.
The Japanese pair, known for its resilience on the court, reached the finals after thrashing Russia's Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov 21-16, 21-15 at the Arena Birmingham on Saturday.
"We are ready to play against any pair. We're planning to just enjoy the match," Marcus said in a statement.
Kevin said they were eager to make amends for their failure at the 2019 All England.
"We really want to do better than last year, but we don't want to overdo it. We're in the final; nevertheless, we just want to do our best," said Kevin.
Meanwhile, world number five pair Praveen and Melati is to face third-seeded Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in the final. The Thais defeated sixth seeds Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yujung of South Korea in the semifinals.
Asked about their preparation for the final match, Melati said they were ready to play extra hard against the Thais.
"We've met several times; we know each other’s styles on the court. The thing is, we have to be ready to play extra hard when it comes to playing the Thais.
"We need to keep our communication intact [on Sunday]," she added.
