They are currently absolutely dominating Men's Doubles scene with 6 of 8 super series wins in 2017. Has anyone analyzed their play style? What is it that makes them suddenly so good? Before mid-2016, they were not even on the radar as a top ten pair. To not only be good but dominating without physical advantage (they seem normal or below average in height and size) in a span of a year is mighty impressive. Is there something we can learn from them?
I guess its because they are the pair that we have never seen in Mens Double history. Its like telling Inoue/Kedren to win SS consistently. I think its natural talent. They are not tall as sportsmen but as normal humans walking on the street 170cm is not short.
I am also not very sure about this but from what I can see, they always apply a kind of dominating pressure over their opponents when they play and both of them are very good at their roles where Marcus Fernaldi Gideon deliver super powerful smashes at the back and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo kills and finishes the rally at the front. Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo is also very good at predicting where the shuttle will be going when the opponents return, maybe from past experience or because he is simply too fast haha
They weren’t in the top 10 before 2016 was because they were a relatively new pairing at the time and lacked consistency. Partnerships takes time to gel, just look at Setiawan/Tan. It seemed like they eventually clicked as a pairing last year when a lot of the top MD players split or retired which allowed them to shine. But that’s not to say it was all luck, as they clearly have a lot of talent too. So what makes them different. Quite a few things. They are both able to compensate for their height disadvantage by quick movement and shot choice allowing them to cover the court very effectively. The quick movement is quite obvious, but their shot choice and quality is perhaps their strongest asset imo. They play to the same conventional modern Indonesian strategy of not lifting the shuttle in any scenario and this invites a lot of drives, pushes, net shot exchanges. However as a lot of these shots are played at near net height, it takes away the advantage that taller opponents have. Taller players cannot exploit their height for angled shots nor use a longer swing for power. Powerful smashers cannot use their full power and front court players cannot dominate the net to force a lift. Furthermore, with Sukumuljo so fast at covering the net and anticipating, this strategy is essentially a trap - they want their opponents to play it back to the net or low shots to bring Sukumuljo into play. This is why the likes of BoMo have been lifting high and deep to keep Sukumuljo out of the rally and to bring the more error prone Gideon into play. It also tires them out a bit particularly as their flatter smashes from near the baseline are less effective. But Gideon does smash well and makes use of the smaller smash angle envelop he has to work with. Another thing that perhaps makes them different and a tactical advantage is in Sukumuljo’s mind games. I think whilst I am appalled by these on court antics of Sukumuljo, there is no denying that it is effective in some circumstances, against certain players and given that the umpires have never taken issue with him on it, it is deemed to be within the rules. But as a fan of the sport, it is sad to see particularly as it sets very bad examples to those who look up to top players like him. The worst thing about it is that I do not believe he needs to do it. He is clearly good enough not to rely on such poor sportsmanship behaviour. Perhaps he actually lacks confidence and feels the need to provoke his opponents. But one thing that I’ve noticed is that he only seems to do it [worse] to players from the far East. May be they are the ones he knows he can affect?
Can be said the he lacks confidence or not. The truth is he needs to do that, if i'm provoked i'll do it too. Its not worse than shouting after each and every point. But what matters is his originality. He is the type of player that badminton have never seen in Men's Double. Thats why whatever he did always gain attention, making badminton watchable. 9 titles are great great great pheno return. its undescribable,happy for them minions. the way they jump left and right makes them feel like they are doubly bigger than Ivanov/Sozonov.
I don't quite know what you mean here? If you mean the disrespectful attitude, then I would disagree as there are lots of those who have come before. If you mean the fast movement and fantastic technique and racket skills, then again hes not the first. The truth is, I actually think they are just the current incarnation of a long line of truly phenomenal, fast, skillful, powerful indonesian mens doubles player. Rexy Mainaky was more skillful, Tony Gunawan, Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto were all amazing (Tony probably the best doubles player I've ever seen), Hendra Setiawan, Muhammad Ashan, Nova Widianto, Flandy Limpele... the list goes on and on. Indonesia have a fantastic history of having the best mens doubles players in the world. I believe that the current pair are simply the next indonesians to have that honour. My view is they are great because of their tactical competence, but built on their exceptional racket skill and defence. Indonesian players are renowned for their skill and their defence - these are the foundations of good badminton. If you add in speed and power, then you have the best players ever. Simple!
I've watched many of the doubles minions' games and I still have to find an instance where Kevin was disrespectful. Maybe I've missed it or could you provide some link(s) on his games where this happened?
Then you are overlooking it. 2017 Yonex Sunrise India Open SF Mens Doubles At 47:43 Sukamuljo hits Petersen and celebrates. He has also acted as if he were to hit a shuttle near the sideline, yet missed it on purpose to, I guess, show off. Overall he has had a lot of disrespectful/bad manner moments - haven't watched a lot of recent tournaments though, so hopefully he has gotten better.
I'm not sure if he actually knew that he hit conrad on the face since he is already lying on the floor. If he knew, i am sure he will apologise. InFact, their last encounter was dull.Nothing wrong with celebrating after long rally. Most MD pairs from Japan&Taipei also shout like Madmen in front of your face which is much worst. And if talk about disrespectful , i think Boe is more disrespect. Doing it Off the Court even. Although his tips end up being hoax.
What i am saying is he is not that tall. Even compare to all the Indonesia predecessors, so imo he plays different from all of them. Speeds of thoughts, Speeds of movements, Speeds of wrist. TheFlash, indeed.
I don't think people who lacks confidence would provoke their opponents. I don't think it's tactic or mind games either, I think it's just his natural showboating personality and training habit. I've seen some really good club players who would do the same antics (intentionally missing the shuttles & posturing after a good shot) or worse against inferior opponents, clearly not due to lacking confidence. I do think Kevin has tried to suppress these unlikable behavior in the world stage but sometimes it came out because it's his natural inclination. Do remember that Kevin is only 22 years old. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing though, from the viewer's perspective. Controversy always adds more excitement. Badminton needs more villains other than BoMo.
Imo too its not a bad thing either unless he directly jeers, makes taunting gestures, or say something at his opponents. Its his natural style of showmanship which is all part of any sports. If his opponents can't take that, that's their problem not kevin's. Sent from my SM-J320F using Tapatalk
Well I agree he has lots of speed. Not much different to some of those other players though in terms of height (e.g. Tony, Candra etc)! I believe the indonesian badminton players generally have the best racket skills. I think the Tai players are quickly catching up - very similar styles.
