JawaPos.com-The situation experienced by Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo at the Tokyo Olympics is almost the same as the South Korean doubles Park Joo-bong/Kim Moon-soo at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Their positions are both seeded, both world number one, and almost unbeaten. The pressure on them is so great. But, Park / Kim can overcome this.
For Marcus/Kevin, actually start they’re good. They can beat Ben Lane/Sean Vendy and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty with a landslide score. However, the pressure of The Minions – the nickname of Marcus/Kevin – is very big.
Besides being world number one, this is their first time appearing in the Olympics. Expectations for them are too high.
We will see this Indonesian team, Marcus/Kevin, who are expected to win gold. If it’s Praveen / Jasmine, the opportunity is still fifty-fifty. The men’s singles competition is open, but it must be realistic with the struggles of Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie.
The golden hope is not as big as the Marcus/Kevin opportunity.
In fact, Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu who finally won gold were initially surrounded by pairs of China, Japan, and South Korea. Greys/Apri competition is very tight. However, attention does not turn to them.
I can see that. When I was on the bus with Kevin and Marcus on the way to the hall, I noticed Kevin wasn’t smiling like he used to. Not enough fresh and no shining.
Very different when we met at the usual superseries event. We met often, joking with relaxed smiles, not caring about the game situation.
While in Tokyo, I saw Kevin very much carried away by the Olympic atmosphere. On the other hand, he and Marcus as Indonesia’s mainstay players have big ambitions to win the Olympics, which only happens once every four years.
The pressure prevents them from performing at their best. I saw against Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, Kevin’s punch, which has been known to be flawless, couldn’t come out at all.
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