Points For Indonesia, Kevin/Marcus: Happy To Return To The Field And Contribute Figures

Men's doubles Kevin Sanjaya Sukamulo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon. (Photo: Twitter/@INABadminton)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Badminton Team performed extraordinary by relenting to Canada with a score of 5-0 in the 2023 Sudirman Cup group stage, Monday, May 15.

Men's doubles Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon became one of the points contributors. This is the first time they have participated in a prestigious tournament after a long absence due to injury problems.

The pair, nicknamed the Minions, immediately scored a victory over Kevin Lee/Ty Alexander Lindeman 21-16, 21-18. Indonesia's mainstay doubles did it in a short time, which was 27 minutes.

In his first appearance, Kevin admitted that he was quite happy because he could feel the atmosphere of the match from the elite championship after slumping to shift their ranking.

"I'm also happy to be able to return to the field and be able to contribute numbers. Hopefully in the future we can get good results in the next championships," Kevin said in a written statement, as quoted by Antara.

He also uses today's match as an adaptation so that he can perform better in the next matches.

"I'm happy that today I played quite well. And also contributed points for Indonesia. Today I also used it for field tests. In the future, hopefully our performance can be even better," he added.

Meanwhile, Marcus assessed that the victory of the two straight games achieved today is expected to be a good start in the Sudirman Cup.

He also thanked the management for being entrusted with defending the Red and White at the mixed team championship.

"Praise be to God, we are still given a win. We are also happy to be trusted to play in this year's Sudirman Cup. Hopefully we can continue to play well and win," said Marcus.

Joy cannot be hidden from Marcus, because previously he had been absent from the realm of competition due to post-leg recovery. As a result, the Minions, which previously dominated BWF number one for approximately five years, were forced to decline to rank 22.

"I am certainly happy to be back in the field after about five months of absence. Hopefully we can contribute to the victory if appointed to appear again," said Marcus.