Japan Open 2022: Kevin/Marcus And Bagas/Fikri Follow Apriani/Siti Fadia’s Traces

Kevin/Marcus managed to advance to the second round of the 2022 Japan Open after defeating the Malaysian pair. (Photo: Twitter @INABadminton)

JAKARTA - Two Indonesian men's doubles, Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon managed to advance to the second round of the 2022 Japan Open. Both followed in Apriyani Rahayu's footsteps/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti's victory on the first day.

Appearing at Maruzen Intec Osaka Arena on Tuesday, August 30 at noon, Western Indonesian Time (WIB), Kevin/Marcus finished the game for 37 minutes. Against representatives of Malaysia, Man Wei Chong/Kai Wun Tee, the doubles ranked one won in two games 23-21 and 21-19.

When appearing in the first round, Kevin/Marcus faced strong resistance from Man/Tee. But their hard work paid off with an 11-9 lead in the first interval.

After the Kevin/Marcus break had moved away until 16-13 until then 20-17, but Man/Tee got up and equalized the score 20-20.

The score again showed the twin numbers were 21-21, but after that Kevin/Marcus were able to win critical points and win two points to win 23-21.

In the second game, Man/Tee performed better at the start. They lead 4-0 and continued to lead the game until closing the interval with an 11-7 advantage. After the break, Marcus/Kevin got up and chased until 12-13, then draw the score to 14-14.

The match was fierce again, fortunately The Minions were able to maintain momentum and lock up the 21-19 victory at the end of the second half.

Kevin/Marcus' victory was also followed by another men's doubles representative, Bagas/Fikri. Both won over Malaysian representative Goh Czech Fei/Nur Izzuddin after struggling in three games which lasted 60 minutes.

Bagas/Fikri won with a score of 21-17, 18-21, 21-19 and became their confident capital after gaining disappointing results in the previous tournament.

The success of these two men's doubles ensures that Indonesia has three representatives who have qualified for the second round. Because in the first match, the women's doubles represented by Siti Fadia/Apriyani Rahayu also won over the Canadian representatives.