The minions are arguably the most exciting men’s doubles partnership on the circuit. The pair comprises Indonesians Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. They follow in a long proud history of Indonesian men’s doubles pairs. If you need a reminder of just how exciting:
Let’s have a look at this pair in-depth and see why they are world number one.
Brief History Of The Pair
Gideon and Sukamuljo were not a pair that had immediate success. There was a period where they needed time to gel. But before being paired together they both had very different paths to world number one.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon
Marcus had won a couple of lower-level tournaments earlier in his career. But according to Republika, he left the national training centre in 2013. Alledgedly due to unhappiness at the selection for the All England 2013.
However, he had not given up on his dreams of representing his country and was later paired with Markis Kido. A move that would see his career reinvigorated. On the face of it, it seems like this partnership is a little mismatched. Both players are mainly rear-court players, and while they’re certainly not lacking skills at the front of the court, it would be fair to say they are not quite as adept as Setiawan and Sukamuljo.
However, obviously, out to prove himself, the Olympic gold medalist as a partner must have given him a confidence boost. And it showed on the court. In the same year he left the national training centre, he claimed his first Superseries title in the French Open. A match I remember well because I had hoped for the Malaysians Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kean Kiet to finally claim another title. Ironically 2014 would culminate in a win at the Indonesian Masters against future partner Kevin (with Selvanus Geh).
Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo
In contrast, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo seemed to have little issue proving himself. It is no surprise that he has been labelled a prodigy previously. As a junior, he won bronze and silver medals in the World Junior Championships. This was both in mixed and boys’ doubles. In fact, he was so successful as a junior player that he was ranked world number one.
However, as history has taught us, being successful at the junior level is not necessarily an indicator of success at the senior level. But, as ever, he is the exception that proves the rule. He showed strong promise in the mixed doubles beating the legendary pair of Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei in the 2014 Indonesian Open. However, this would really be the extent of his mixed doubles at this level. His real focus was in men’s doubles and having won a few lower-tier tournaments so far, he was about to enter the 2015 season with a new partner.
The Coming Together Of The Minions
In 2015 Gideon and Sukamuljo were paired together, the start of something special. However, it didn’t start how it’s currently going. In 2015, they won the Chinese Taipei Masters. This was considered a Grand Prix Gold tournament under the old BWF tournaments. As expected with any new partnership, it would take time for them to gel.
In 2016 things were looking more promising, having won the Malaysian and Indonesian Masters. In the former, they beat Malaysian duo Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Keat in the finals. More importantly, however, they won their first superseries in the India Open 2016. From there, they added the China and Australian Open to their collection The minions had made their mark and showed no signs of slowing down.
From 2017 onwards they really came to life. Notably winning their first All England title as well as 6 other BWF Super Series titles, including the World Superseries finals held in December 2017. This capped a remarkable year in which they achieved world number-one status and a new record – being the first men’s doubles pair to with 7 titles in one season.
2018 continued in very much the same vein. They were involved in 10 out of 13 finals and winning 9 of those finals. Including retaining the All-England title. There was no slowdown in 2019 either, winning 8 tournaments, including two Super 1000s.
With their above achievements, it’s no wonder they have twice won Male Badminton Player Of The Year in 2017 and 2018.
Strengths/Weaknesses
Strengths
Chemistry: There’s no doubt that this pair play phenomenally well together. Both players know exactly where they need to be to cover each other. But this is really emphasised to me when Kevin plays some insane shots that nobody saw coming except his partner Marcus. When you play textbook badminton (eg the Koreans), it’s easier to know where to be because everything is very standard. The fact that Kevin can play something completely unconventional and Marcus is still able to be in the right place is a testament to their chemistry.
Speed: This pair is probably the fastest men’s doubles pair on the circuit. While Kevin Sanjaya is exceptionally quick in the frontcourt, the same can be said about his partner in the rear court. The net effect is that they are both able to set each other up well for attacking play. It’s easy to see Sukamuljo whizzing around the net like a cheetah on speed, which almost makes it easy to forget how fast Marcus is in the rear court. He is really the foundation of the attacking play of the pair.
Defence: Have you ever played badminton against a wall? I can imagine a lot of the time, that’s how their opponents feel. Their reactions are incredible. They also play off their opponent’s speed very well, being able to absorb the power to drive the shuttle back to the opponents. They have the luxury of being able to absorb the opponent’s attack before launching a counter-attack or forcing the opponent into an error.
Flat Game: A trademark of the Indonesian men’s doubles style is to really not lift the shuttle and play short flat drives back to the opponent. There are few pairs that do this as well as the minions, even among the Asian nations. I expect that their heights give them an advantage in this situation and they’re really able to pressurise their opponents with this tactic.
Hunger To Win: When you have achieved as much as the minions, it might be easy to become complacent. However, their winning profile from 2017 onwards shows no sign of slowing down. They clearly have a winning mentality. With a beckoning World Championship and Olympic title, I suspect that they aren’t going to put the brakes on any time soon!
Weaknesses
Among their many strengths, it’s not easy to find any weaknesses. But let’s have a go since nobody is perfect!
Set Formation: One weakness we could consider is that both players have “set roles.” Many men’s doubles pairs for years have had this approach, so partnerships can complement each other. They are clearly most effective when Marcus is in the rear court and Kevin is in the frontcourt. When the roles are reversed, there is a lack of potency in their attacking play as Sukamuljo is not as powerful as Gideon. Boe and Mogensen have used this tactic to good effect in the past.
However, both players are more than capable in these roles. Kevin knows his smash isn’t as powerful but places them extremely well to force weak replies or win the point outright.
Marcus is not as fast as Kevin at the front but plays basic shots to force the lift. This means the pair can continue the attack. Working in this way they are able to continue to pressurise their opponent and create opportunities to rotate back into their preferred formation.
Impatience: While it’s rare that many doubles players can withstand the minion’s attack for an extended period of time, there is one pair that has caused problems for them.
Yuta Watanabe and Hiroyuki Endo can boast a 6-2 record against the minions. Their defence is possibly the best in the men’s doubles discipline which helps to neutralise the Indonesian’s attacking play. Because of this, it’s clear that the minions are frustrated at not being able to penetrate the defences of the Japanese. Rather than play out the rally, they will often try to force shots (eg playing difficult interceptions) or play high error percentage shots, such as going for the lines.
Unsportsman Like: This is more relevant to Kevin. Some people seem to love Kevin’s mischievous behaviour on the court while others loathe it. Perhaps this is just his carefree character and spectators like a bit of showmanship. However, it is unsportsmanlike behaviour in my eyes. While not a technical weakness, I personally think that it does show immaturity. He is already so good, that his game should speak for itself. For me, this is the only thing holding him back from being considered a true great of the sport, even if his skills are already there.
Conclusion
There’s no doubting the achievements of the minions. They are one of the most exciting pairs to watch on the circuit. With Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo as a frontcourt wizard and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon as a speeding bullet in the rear court, there seems to be no stopping them. Focusing on the Tokyo Olympics which is now looming, they will certainly be one of the favourites to take home the gold.
What do you think about the minions? Are they your favourite? Let me know in the comments!
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