The Indonesian pair of Marcus Gideon, 29, and Kevin Sukamuljo, 24, first climbed to the world number 1 position in March 2017. They have consistently stayed in the top 3 ever since.
Since 2018, they have won 17 World Tour titles. They dominate the men’s doubles discipline. Now the question is Can they win the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?
In a recent interview with the Olympic Channel, the Minions sat down and talked about their take on the big event that is coming next year.
When Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan won the gold in 2008 Beijing, Gideon said he was watching the match at his house and it made him want to do the same as he thought it was “pretty cool to become an Olympic champion.” He said the title is really prestigious and it has become his dream to win.
As for 2020 Tokyo, Gideon said, “For sure the target is a gold medal. That is definitely our hope and our dream. But we have to take it step by step and do our best against each opposition in front of us.”
Sukamuljo added to this hope of winning the gold at the Olympics by saying, “For sure we want to be the Olympic champions but we also want to enjoy the experience without too much pressure. The most important thing is that I really want for us to give it our best.”
The pair carries the nation’s hopes on their shoulders. They emphasized on the pressure that they have now as the top Indonesian pair and as the world No. 1s.
Gideon said, “Before we were ranked number one, we played without pressure…but now when we play, the expectation is for us to win no matter what. Even if we lose in the finals, they say we’ve failed. So for sure, the pressure is there.”
Sukamuljo said, “For sure [the country’s] expectations are very high, but win or lose we are the ones who feel it the most. The most important part to me is that we try our best.”
