Jakarta: Indonesia’s men’s doubles department has drawn the short straw when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) published the 2022 All England draw on Tuesday.
Four out of Indonesia’s six men’s doubles pair had to clash with each other in the first round, while World No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and World No. 2 Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan were placed in opposite halves of the draw.
Indonesia’s World No. 9 Fajar Alfian / Muhammad Rian Ardianto were drawn to meet teammates World No. 29 Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin in the first round, while World No. 21 Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan would open against World No. 28 Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Bagas Maulana.
Indonesia’s men’s doubles head coach – Herry Iman Pierngadi said that this could appear to be a problem when sending too many players to a tournament.
“I think it’s one of the issues we have to face if we field too many pairs in one tournament. We are sending six pairs in the All England, so, there are chances that they may face each other. But we have to go through that process because the World rankings for Pramudya/Jeremiah, Leo/Daniel, and Bagas/Fikri are currently in the 20s. So, chances of them to play against each other are high,” said Herry Iman Pierngadi.
“This is just part of the process. After their world rankings increase, they will not meet each other that often early in the draw. I think all countries sometimes experience these things,” continued Pierngadi.
Meanwhile, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto also questioned the 2022 All England draw results.
“It’s a terrible draw. Luckily, we will get to warm-up at German Open before the All England,” said Alfian.
“Right now, we are working on our health and physical condition. We can evaluate our strengths and weaknesses at the German Open because almost all opponents in All England will also compete in Germany,” continued Alfian.
