Jakarta: Indonesia’s hopes of securing at least a title through their red-hot No. 1 men’s doubles pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon had faded after the Indonesian pair was easily defeated by unseeded Danish pair Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 16-21, 16-21 in 34 minutes.
“We played very conservatively today. I tore my shoulder ligament last Wednesday. I haven’t receive any information from the medical team about how long it would take for full recovery,” Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo told the media after the match.
As for Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, his was blaming the wind in the new badminton stadium which made them difficult to control the shuttlecocks.
Sukamuljo/Gideon who are currently ranked World No. 1, kicked off the 2017 season by winning three consecutive titles at premier tournaments including the All England, India Open and Malaysia Open.
The upsets continue at Indonesia Open when defending women’s doubles champions and No. 1 seeds Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi were knocked out of the tournament by unseeded Huang Yaqiong/Yu Xiaohan of China, losing 21-7, 22-20 in 44 minutes at the Jakarta Convention Center.
Huang/Yu will play another Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota in the second round.
