Happy To Be Able To Continue Competing Despite Being Squeezed By A Busy Schedule, Marcus/Kevin: Must Be Tiring, But Just Enjoy It

Marcus/Kevin (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon's men's double victory at the Indonesia Open 2021 badminton tournament, made both of them grateful because they could still compete despite being in a busy tournament schedule.

"Indeed, there are many and consecutive matches, yes, but we don't blame anyone for this condition. But we are grateful because BWF was able to make the event even though there are still many restrictions everywhere," said Marcus as quoted by Antara, Monday, November 29.

For the world's number one pair, going through two consecutive months of matches with seven tournaments since the Sudirman Cup in October was clearly exhausting and an unprecedented event.

It is recorded that the Minions and the Cipayung National Training Team have competed since the Sudirman Cup, Thomas-Uber Cup, Denmark Open, French Open, Hylo Open, and two domestic tournaments, Indonesia Masters and Indonesia Open.

With the implementation of these consecutive tournaments, the decline in players' stamina is an unavoidable risk, even for top badminton players.

This condition was also experienced by the Minions until the Indonesia Masters last week. Even so, the Minions are still lucky because they can survive until the final round and come out as runner-up, and improve their performance at the Indonesia Open.

In fact, they did not deny that they had experienced mental and physical exhaustion due to the busy match routine. Even so, their profession as world-class athletes requires them to always show their best.

"Just be grateful because there is still a tournament and indeed this is a job that we enjoy, we enjoy. It must be tiring, but everyone is also experiencing this condition. We don't want to be depressed and just enjoy it," Marcus said.

However, Kevin/Marcus' fatigue and hard work finally paid off in the Super 1000 tournament which is part of the 2021 Indonesia Badminton Festival (IBF). They were able to overcome fatigue and appear primed to win the Indonesia Open title for the third time in a row.

"Obviously happy to get a hat-trick, but we don't think about it, the important thing is to try our best and get maximum results in every game," concluded Kevin.