Mens doubles an open affair in Badminton Asia in Wuhan
World No 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo suffered embarrassing defeats in the last three tournaments – going out in the first round in the All England Championships, the Malaysia Open (quarter-finals)and in the semi-finals in the Singapore Open.
However, coach Haryono Minarat, is not too concerned with the setbacks. Instead, he is confident that the top seeds in this year’s Badminton Asia Championships which get underway at the Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium on Tuesday, “will bounce back” soon.
Gideon-Sukamuljo , are the top seeds. Two other Indonesian pairs – are also seeded in the USD400,000 tournament . They are All-England champions Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan , who are seeded fourth and Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, seeded seventh.
Another Indonesian pair – Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pangkaryanira –Ade Yusuf Santoso is also in the main draw and will play Sri Lankan pair Dinuka Karunaratna-Niluka Karunaratne , promoted from the qualifying round.
Gideon-Sukamuljo face Singapore’s Danny Bawa Chrisnanta-Terry Hee Yong Kai, also promoted from the qualifying rounds while Ahsan-Setiawan open their campaign against Hong Kong China’s Lam Wai Lok-Li Kuen Hon.
Haryono is also not concerned with the Tokyo Olympics qualifying rounds which begin with next week’s New Zealand Open. In fact none of the pairs competing in Wuhan will be in New Zealand.
“Nothing to be worried about qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics…it is still a long way to go. Indonesia will be sending its back-up team to New Zealand,” said Haryono after a training session at the Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium.
“I agree Gideon-Sukamuljo lost in the last three tournaments but it has not demoralized the pair. There are ups and downs in badminton…sometimes you win seven to eight tournaments in a row. There is nothing to be alarmed about their losing streak.”
As for the Badminton Asia Championships, Haryono is not putting any pressure on his pairs.
“Any of the pairs here are capable of winning the title,” added Haryono.
Meanwhile, Japan head coach Park Joo Bong said recently crowned Singapore Open champions Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda who beat Ahsan-Setiawan for the title, said: “They are very tired. There is no pressure on them in Wuhan.”
Kamura-Sonoda finished runners-up last year – losing to China’s Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen 11-21, 21-10, 21-13 in the final.
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