Jakarta: Hendra Setiawan and Markis Kido who had won the 2008 Olympic gold medal, the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and the 2007 World Championships together, but had ended their 13 years partnership in August of 2012, will soon be playing together again.
Indonesian badminton fans will have a chance to see this former World No. 1 men’s doubles pair reunite in the upcoming 2017 Djarum Indonesia Badminton Super League that will be held in DBL Arena, Surabaya, from February 19th to February 26th, as both will be playing for the Berkat Abadi Banjarmasin team.
Kido admitted he had not played with Hendra for a while, they’ll have to learn how to adapt to each other’s playing style.
“After a long time not playing together, of course, we’ll need to get used to each other again,” said Kido.
On the same token, Setiawan said he is ready to pair with anyone.
“Indeed, I definitely need to adjust to new partner but I am ready to play with anyone,” said Setiawan.
Despite both Setiawan and Kido are on the same team, there’s no guaranteed they will be paired together. There are a lot of good men’s doubles player in the Berkat Abadi Banjarmasin team, including Hendra Setiawan’s new partner Tan Boon Heong (Malaysia), Yoo Yeon Seong (Korea), Marcus Fernaldi, Angga Pratama and Rian Agung Saputro.
The team has also recruited several top men’s singles players in the world such as Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Thailand), Tommy Sugiarto, Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Kenichi Tago (Japan).
Meanwhile, the defending champion Musica Champion has added several superstars on their roster, such as Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia), Lee Yong Dae (Korea), Vladimir Ivanov (Russia), Kim Sa Rang (Korea), Chou Tien Chen (Taiwan) and many more. Two young Indonesian men’s singles such as Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting will also be part of the Musica team.
Below is the complete list of men’s and women’s teams in the 2017 Djarum Indonesia Badminton Super League:
Men’s Teams:
Group A
1. Musica Champion
2. Mutiara Cardinal Bandung
3. Tjakrindo Masters
4. Hitachi (Japan)
5. USM Blibli.com
Group B
1. Berkat Abadi
2. Djarum Kudus
3. Sports Affair (Malaysia)
4. Gifu Tricky Panders (Japan)
5. Granular (Thailand)
Women’s Teams:
Group C
1. Berkat Abadi
2. Tjakrindo Masters
3. USM Blibli.com
4. Gifu Tricky Panders (Japan)
5. Granular (Thailand)
Group D
1. Mutiara Cardinal Bandung
2. Hokuto Bank
3. Jaya Raya Jakarta
4. Kumamoto Saishunkan
5. Djarum Kudus
