Kevin/Marcus Absent From 3 Southeast Asian Tournaments, Coach Herry IP: Time To Focus On World Championship Preparation

JAKARTA - Indonesian men's doubles, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon are confirmed to be absent from the three Southeast Asian tournaments. This is used by the coach, Herry Iman Pierngadi to focus on the 2022 World Championship.

The news about Kevin/Marcus' absence at the Malaysia Open, Malaysia Masters and Singapore Open was announced last Thursday. The reason, Marcus is still in the process of recovering after undergoing left heel surgery.

Coach Herry IP then took advantage of this to focus his students on the 2022 World Championship which will take place in Japan on August 22-28.

"It's time to focus on preparing for the World Championships so that their performance can be more optimal," said Herry in a PBSI release.

Kevin/Marcus previously appeared in two BWF agendas, namely the Indonesia Masters and the Indonesia Open on 7-19 June. However, given the condition of Marcus who had just undergone surgery, the two events became a test case for Marcus to see how his recovery rate was.

The results of their second appearance in this tournament will also be used as an evaluation by Herry IP. What's more, the coach nicknamed the Fire Dragon also assessed that Kevin/Marcus' condition was not yet ready to compete in an event as competitive as the BWF World Tour.

"With the condition not recovering 100 percent, Marcus and Kevin can perform well," he said.

"Even so, Marcus' performances on the field, especially his movements, have not been optimal. It still takes time to recover 100 percent," said Herry.