Jakarta: Indonesia’s World No. 1 men’s doubles pair – Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon wrapped up the 2020 Tokyo Olympics simulation match organized by the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) with a win, but they were unhappy with their performance.
Sukamuljo/Gideon were made to work hard before defeated the 2021 Spain Masters champions, Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Erich Yoche Rambitan 18-21, 21-14, 21-16 last Thursday.
“Our opponents played quite well as they played like they had nothing to lose while we were still trying to figure out our playing style,” said Sukamuljo after the match.
“We were surprised too, didn’t expect them to play fast from the start but luckily we were able to adjust. Indeed, we haven’t competed in a very long time, but we were consistent in training and always at our maximum, so we can still keep up with the pace,” explained Gideon.
Both players said that they needed to continue to improve their games.
“We were not 100% satisfied as there’re still many things that needed to be improved and evaluated. We haven’t really found the proper technical game plan that suitable for us yet,” added Sukamuljo.
Meanwhile, Head of Development and Achievement of PBSI, Rionny Mainaky has given his evaluation for the results of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics simulation that took place last Wednesday and Thursday, after Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan, and Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti were defeated by their sparring partners.
“Gregoria was slowing down her speed in the third set, and her opponent took advantage of that to beat her,” said Mainaky.
“For the men’s singles, same as Gregoria, Ginting started the game well, but throughout the game, he did not maintain his consistency. This caused Ginting to experience a decline in performance in the third game,” explained Mainaky.
“For the mixed doubles sector, Jordan/Melati only played their 50 percent because Jordan had pain in his left buttocks, so that affected his movements,” added Mainaky.
Last but not least, Mainaky was extremely serious about Ahsan/Setiawan’s defeat in the Olympic simulation.
“They have played well, but their opponent has were balanced in both attacking and defending,” commented Mainaky.
Ahsan/Setiawan lost to Muhammad Rian Ardianto/M. Reza Pahlevi 23-21, 13-21, 16-21.
“Our shuttlers were very motivated and also in good preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, and I hope they could remain more focused in training before the Olympics,” concluded Mainaky.
The Indonesian badminton team will undergo two weeks of training camp in Kumamoto and one week in Tokyo before the start of the badminton event at the Tokyo Olympics on July 24.
