BADMINTON: Doubles defenders Gideon & Sukamuljo and Fukushima & Hirota highlight Indonesia Open

Twice as nice: Second straight women's Doubles win for Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota at the Indonesia Open (Photo: BWF)

With a staggering $1.25 million in prize money on the line in the Indonesia Open, one of the richest stops on the BWF World Tour, it’s no surprise that repeat winners are fairly rare in this tournament.

But both the men’s and women’s Doubles teams managed it and claimed the $92.500 first prize:

● Indonesia’s no. 1-ranked Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo defended their 2018 title with a victory over countrymen (and 2013 champs) Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, 21-19, 21-16.

● Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota had to defend their title against another former champion, 2016 winners Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in the final, but won in straight sets, 21-16, 21-18.

Both of the Singles winners were impressive, with Taipei’s Tien Chen Chou continuing his rise up the world rankings. He defeated Dane Anders Antonsen in the final, after getting past 2008-12 Olympic gold medalist Dan Lin (CHN) in the second round and no. 7 Jonatan Christie (INA) in the quarters. Chou is now up to no. 3 worldwide.

Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi now stands fourth in the BWF rankings, after defeating no. 1 Tzu Ying Tai (TPE) in the semis and no. 5 V. Sindhu Pursarla in the final, 21-15, 21-16. Summaries:

BWF World Tour/Indonesia Open
Jakarta (INA) ~ 16-21 July 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Singles: 1. Tien Chen Chou (TPE); 2. Anders Antonsen (DEN); 3. Kantaphon Wangcharoen (THA) and Wing Ki Vincent Wong (HKG). Semis: Chou d. Wangcharoen, 21-19, 18-21, 21-16; Antonsen d. Wong, 21-17, 21-10. Final: Chou d. Antonsen, 21-18, 24-26, 21-15.

Men/Doubles: 1. Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA); 2. Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA); 3. Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi (JPN) and Junhui Li/Yuchen Liu (CHN). Semis: Gideon/Sukamuljo d. Li/Liu, 21-9, 21-13; Ahsan/Setiawan d. Hoki/Kobayashi, 17-21, 21-19, 21-17. Final: Gideon/Sukamuljo d. Ahsan/Setiawan, 21-19, 21-16.

Women/Singles: 1. Akane Yamaguchi (JPN); 2. V. Sindhu Pusarla (IND); 3. Tzu Ying Tai (TPE) and Yufei Chen (CHN). Semis: Yamaguchi d. Tai, 21-9, 21-15; Pursarla d. Chen, 21-19, 21-10. Final: Yamaguchi d. Pusarla, 21-15, 21-16.

Women/Doubles: 1. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN); 2. Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi (JPN); 3. So Hee Lee/Seung Chan Shin (KOR) and Qing Chen Chen/Yifan Jia (CHN). Semis: Matsutomo/Takahashi d. Lee/Shin, 17-21, 21-14, 21-15; Fukushima/Hirota d. Chen/Jia, 21-14, 21-12. Final: Fukushima/Hirota d. Matsutomo/Takahashi, 21-16, 21-18.

Mixed Doubles: 1. Siwei Zheng/Yaqiong Huang (CHN); 2. Yilyu Wang/Dongping Huang (CHN); 3. Peng Soon Chan/Liu Ying Goh (MAS) and Kian Meng Tan/Pei King Lai (MAS). Semis: Zheng/Huang d. Tan/Lai, 21-12, 21-16; Wang/Huang d. Chan/Goh, 21-13, 22-20. Final: Zheng/Huang d. Wang/Huang, 21-13, 21-18.