Jakarta: The Indonesian badminton team is going full force at the 2021 Malaysia Open that will be held at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, from May 25 to May 30.
Big names such as World No. 1 and No. 2 men’s doubles pairs – Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, World No. 5 and No. 7 men’s singles players – Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie are all ready to compete at the Malaysia Open. The Indonesian team was forced to withdraw from the All England in March after an anonymous passenger in their flight to London tested positive for COVID-19.
Besides the men’s doubles, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie will compete in the men’s singles category together with World No. 32 Tommy Sugiarto. These men’s singles are on the mission to end Indonesia’s 21-year drought at Malaysia Open after Taufik Hidayat last won it in the year 2000, by defeating Xia Xuanze of China with 15-10, 17-14.
Since then, Malaysia Open has been dominated by Lee Chong Wei who won a total of 12 titles since 2004, Peter Gade (2007), Chen Long (2015), and Lin Dan (2017, 2019).
“Anthony Ginting is in a good position to secure himself as the better seed for the Olympics. If he plays and does well in Malaysia and Singapore, he could become the 2nd seed after Momota,” tweeted Steen Schleicher, the former head coach of the Danish national team and current World Tour commentator.
Malaysia Open and Singapore Open (June 1 to June 6) are the only two tournaments left that offer Olympic qualification points. Indonesian players especially mixed doubles pair – Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja who currently ranked No. 8 in the Race to Tokyo rankings, would need to play their best in order to secure their spot in the Tokyo Olympics together with compatriots – Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti, who are currently ranked No. 4 in the Race to Tokyo rankings.
Following is the list of Indonesian players who will be playing at the Malaysia Open:
Men’s Singles:
Jonatan Christie
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting
Tommy Sugiarto
Women’s Singles:
Gregoria Mariska Tunjung
Men’s Doubles:
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo
Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto
Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan
Women’s Doubles:
Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu
Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti/Ribka Sugiarto
Mixed Doubles:
Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti
Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja
Adnan Maulana/Mychelle Chrystine Bandaso
Mohammad Arif Ab Latif/Rusydina Antardayu Riodingin
