Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo


Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo is an Indonesian professional badminton player currently ranked world No. 1 in the men's doubles by the Badminton World Federation. He is from PB Djarum, a badminton club in Kudus, Central Java and has been a member of the club since 2007. He won the 2017 All England Open Super Series Premier with his current partner, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon. He and Gideon were awarded the BWF Best Male Players of the Year for two years in a row after collecting seven Super Series titles in 2017 and eight World Tour titles in 2018.
Sukamuljo and Gideon are often referred to as "The Minions" because of their below average height and for their fast and agile playing style, bouncing here and there like the Minions in the film Despicable Me. BWF commentator, Gillian Clark stated that Sukamuljo is one of the quickest player in the badminton world because of his unexpected shots and his ability to know where the next shot will be played.
defending the title at the 2018 All England Open badminton championship – the oldest tournament in Badminton – in Birmingham, England

Early and personal life

Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo was born on 2 August 1995 in Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia, to parents Sugiarto Sukamuljo and Winartin Niawati of Chinese Indonesians ethnicity. He is the nephew of former world number 1 men's doubles player, Alvent Yulianto Chandra. Sukamuljo started to learn about badminton at two and a half years, by seeing his father play on the court behind their house. Noticing young Sukamuljo's interest in badminton, his father then found a coach in Jember at the Putra 46 club to foster his child's talent for a year. Sukamuljo later entered the Sari Agung club in Banyuwangi and in 2006, at the age of eleven, he won a Graha Bhakti Cup tournament. Recognizing his talent, Sukamuljo's parents encouraged him to join a bigger club. He then took part at the general auditions scholarship held by PB Djarum, but failed due to his small physique. However, he refused to give up, and began training everyday, instead of his usual 4 days a week routine. With these additional hours, he finally managed to pass the audition at PB Djarum in 2007.
After joining PB Djarum, Sukamuljo went through defeat after defeat. At first, Sukamuljo played in the men's singles discipline. However, he was then turned toward the doubles disciplines, experimenting with both the men's and mixed doubles. Initially, he and his parents resisted this turn toward specialization in doubles, but men's doubles coach Ade Lukas believed that this was where Sukamuljo's skills and abilities would be best utilized. After a year of training in doubles, he showed progress and had great expectations going forward.

Career

2010–2013: Junior and early senior career

In the PB Djarum club, Sukamuljo was trained by Sigit Budiarto. He won some National Circuit tournaments in his age group with different partners. In 2010, he won the Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, Pekanbaru, and Jakarta circuits, and also the Candra Wijaya men's doubles championships. In 2011, he won the Jakarta circuit and Pertamina Open. He represented Indonesia at the 2011 ASEAN School Games held at the Yio Chu Kang Sports Hall, Singapore, and won a gold in the mixed doubles with Aris Budiharti, and a silver in the boys' doubles with Felix Kinalsal. In July 2011, just before turning 16, Sukamuljo qualified to compete in the international senior age group, by reaching the finals of the Singapore International Series tournament partnered with Lukhi Apri Nugroho. He also played at the World Junior Championships held in Taoyuan City, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals in the boys' doubles event with his partner Nugroho.
In 2012, Sukamuljo won the U–19 National tournament the Jakarta Open and West Java circuits, also the Candra Wijaya men's doubles championships. In July, he won a bronze medal at the Asian Junior Championships in the boys' doubles event with Alfian Eko Prasetya. He was named as the "Future Athlete" after he finished runner-up in the Tangkas Specs Junior Challenge. In August, he was ranked as number 1 in the BWF World Junior Ranking. In October–November, he competed at the World Junior Championships held in Chiba, Japan, but lost in the early stages of both the boys' and mixed doubles events. In December, he clinched the boys' doubles title at the Junior National Championships with Rafiddias Akhdan Nugroho.
In 2013, Sukamuljo was selected to join the national men's doubles team squad. He started the season by competing in Vietnam International Challenge partnered with Rafiddias Akhdan Nugroho, but lost in the quarter-finals to the Hong Kong pair Chan Yun Lung and Wong Wai Hong in a close rubber game. In May, he won the West Java circuit tournament teamed with Hafiz Faizal. In July, he competed at the Asian Junior Championships held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, and captured bronze medals in the mixed team and boys' doubles events partnered with Arya Maulana Aldiartama. Turning eighteen in August, he won the mixed doubles title at the Tangkas Specs Junior International Challenge with Masita Mahmudin. In October-November, he participated at the World Junior Championships in Bangkok, Thailand where he helped Indonesia to win the silver medal in the mixed team event. In the individual tournament he earned mixed doubles silver with Mahmudin, losing the final match to the Chinese pair Huang Kaixiang and Chen Qingchen, whom they had beaten the previous week in the semifinals of team play.

2014–2016: From International Challenge to Superseries titles

Sukamuljo began the 2014 season playing with a new partner, Selvanus Geh, and won his very first tournament with Geh, the Vietnam International Challenge by beating Australians Robin Middleton and Ross Smith in the finals.In his second month playing with Geh, he captured his first Grand Prix doubles title at the New Zealand Open, when he and Geh upset the second seeds from Chinese Taipei Chen Hung-ling and Lu Chia-pin in the finals. In June, he competed against the world's best players at the Indonesia Open paired with Geh and with Greysia Polii in mixed doubles. Starting from the qualification round in both events, he was stopped in the second round of the main draw in both, but in the first round of mixed doubles, he and Polii put out the defending champions and world number ones Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, 15–21, 21–18, 23–21. In July Sukamuljo and Geh reached the quarterfinals of the of the Chinese Taipei Open. In September they reached their first Grand Prix Gold final as a team at the Indonesia Masters where they were beaten in three games by Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and doubles great Markis Kido the top seeds. Sukamuljo then won his third title with Geh at the Bulgarian International defeating compatriots Ronald Alexander and Edi Subaktiar in the final. Sukamuljo's mixed doubles partnerships with Della Destiara Haris and Maretha Dea Giovani were less successful reaching no farther than the quarterfinals of any 2014 tournament. In December Sukamuljo joined Indonesia's team for the Axiata Cup in Kuala Lumpur,but the squad was narrowly edged by Thailand.
In 2015, men's doubles national coach Herry Iman Pierngadi paired Sukamuljo with Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, because Selvanus Geh had to resign from the national team due to illness. The new partnership opened the season in Europe playing at the All England and Swiss Open. In England they reached the quarterfinals before falling to the Danish pair Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding, Partnered with Greysia Polii, Sukamuljo lost in the second round of mixed double to fifth seeds Chris and Gabby Adcock. In Switzerland he and Gideon were stopped in the semi-finals by the Malaysian pair Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong. Sukamuljo then took part in the Sudirman Cup held in Dongguan, China, where Indonesia settled for a bronze medal. At the June Southeast Asian Games in Singapore he helped his team win the gold medal, and in the individual men's doubles event, he and Gideon captured the silver medal. Competing as an unseeded pair in the Chinese Taipei Open, he and Gideon reached the final by defeating then World Champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, but they failed to take the title, losing the final tamely to Zhang Nan and Fu Haifeng. They reached the semifinals of the Vietnam and Thailand Opens before capturing their first title together at the Chinese Taipei Masters in October where they beat Malaysia' Hoon Thien How and Lim Khim Wah in the finals. In the Hong Kong Open, Sukamuljo and Gideon beat the World Championship silver medalists Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan before losing to top seededed South Koreans Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong in the quarterfinals. In December, they were stopped in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters by second seeds Chai Biao and Hong Wei in three games. They ended the 2015 season ranked 16th in the world.
Sukamuljo and Gideon kicked off the 2016 season by winning the Malaysia Masters in January. They then suffered a slump with early exits from several tournaments, including a first round exit from the All England Open. After this All England low their form, though inconsistent, improved significantly.They reached the semifinals of the New Zealand Open in late March and in April clinched their first Superseries title as a team at the India Open, beating their senior compatriot Angga Pratama and Ricky Karanda Suwardi in the final. In the following weeks they were defeated in the second round of Malaysia Open, then in the quarter-finals of Singapore Open and Asian Championships. In May Sukamuljo participated in the Thomas Cup held in Kunshan, China, but he failed to contribute points to the Indonesian team during the Thomas Cup Group B tie against Thailand. and was not selected to play in the knockout stage of the tournament between qualifying teams. Here Indonesia had to settle for silver, losing the final 2 matches to 3 against jubilant, first time winner Denmark.
In June, Sukamuljo and Gideon were eliminated in the second round of Indonesia Open by world number 1 Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong. A week later, however, the duo won their second Superseries title at the Australian Open, in the quarterfinals defeating Zhang Nan and Fu Haifeng for the first time, to whom they had lost three previous matches. Due to an injury suffered by Gideon, Sukamuljo was paired with Wahyu Nayaka at the home soil Indonesian Masters tournament, but the scratch partnership still managed to win the title. After Gideon's recovery the reunited duo won the Superseries Premier tournament at the China Open. The team was ranked as number 4 in Destination Dubai rankings, and qualified to compete for the year-end Superseries Finals, but they failed to advance from the group phase. Nevertheless, at year's end Sukamuljo and Gideon occupied the number 2 position in the world rankings.

2017: World number 1

Now competing only in the world's biggest events, Sukamuljo and Gideon started 2017 by making up for their 2016 first round defeat with a tourament victory at the coveted All England Open in March, thus earning a number one men's doubles world ranking.. They then secured their second consecutive India Open title, and after that won the Malaysia Open. Their remarkable winning run was then stopped by Danish veterans Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen in the semifinals of the Singapore Open. In May they played for Indonesia at the Sudirman Cup held in Australia. In group round robin play they won their country's only point in its surprising loss to India but in group play against Denmark they again lost to Boe and Mogensen, as Indonesia, for the first time in the Cup's 28 year history, was eliminated in the group stage of the competition. In June the duo was upset by another Danish pair, Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, in the first round of Indonesia Open.
In August, Sukamuljo and Gideon went to the World Championships held in Glasgow, Scotland, as third seeds, but lost in the quarter-finals to China's Chai Biao and Hong Wei in three close games. In September they reached the final of the Korea Open but were again beaten by Boe and Morgensen, however, one week later they exacted a measure of revenge against the Danes in the semi-finals of Japan Open, then went on to win the tournament by defeating the host pair of Takuto Inoue and Yuki Kaneko. In October, Sukamuljo and Gideon lost the final of the Denmark Open in a tight match to reigning World Champion Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan. Citing an arm injury suffered during their semifinal match in Denmark, Gideon withdrew from the next Super Series tournament in France. Back together in November, Sukamuljo and Gideon improved their head-to-head record against Boe and Mogensen to 3–4, after defeating them in the finals and securing their second China Open title. They won the Hong Kong Open a week later, their sixth Super Series victory of the season, thus equaling the previous men's doubles record of six set by South Koreans Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong in 2015. For their achievements Sukamuljo and Gideon were named Best Male Players of the Year by the Badminton World Federation. The duo then closed out the year by capturing the Dubai World Super Series Finals, making them the first men's doubles pair to win seven Super Series titles in a year.

Awards

Asian Games

Men's doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2018Istora Gelora Bung Karno,
Jakarta, Indonesia		 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Fajar Alfian
Muhammad Rian Ardianto		13–21, 21–18, 24–22 Gold

Asian Championships

Men's doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2019Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium,
Wuhan, China		 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Hiroyuki Endo
Yuta Watanabe		18–21, 3–21 Silver

Southeast Asian Games

Men's doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2015Singapore Indoor Stadium,
Singapore		 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Angga Pratama
Ricky Karanda Suwardi		12–21, 22–24 Silver

ASEAN University Games

Men's doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2014Dempo Sports Hall,
Indonesia		 Arya Maulana Aldiartama Kuldip Singh Jagdish Sing Dhanda
Vountus Indra Mawan		21–11, 18–21, 21–19 Gold

BWF World Junior Championships

Mixed doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2013Hua Mark Indoor Stadium,
Bangkok, Thailand		 Masita Mahmudin Huang Kaixiang
Chen Qingchen		18–21, 22–20, 21–23 Silver

Asian Junior Championships

Boys' doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2013Likas Indoor Stadium,
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia		 Arya Maulana Aldiartama Li Junhui
Liu Yuchen		16–21, 12–21 Bronze
2012Gimcheon Indoor Stadium,
Gimcheon, South Korea		 Alfian Eko Prasetya Wang Chi-lin
Wu Hsiao-lin		20–22, 13–21 Bronze

BWF World Tour (17 titles, 2 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation. The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's doubles
YearTournamentLevelPartnerOpponentScoreResult
2020All England OpenSuper 1000 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Hiroyuki Endo
Yuta Watanabe		18–21, 21–12, 19–21 Runner-up
2020Indonesia Masters Super 500 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mohammad Ahsan
Hendra Setiawan		21–15, 21–16 Champion
2019Fuzhou China Open Super 750 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Takeshi Kamura
Keigo Sonoda		21–17, 21–9 Champion
2019French Open Super 750 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
Chirag Shetty		21–18, 21–16 Champion
2019Denmark Open Super 750 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mohammad Ahsan
Hendra Setiawan		21–14, 21–13 Champion
2019China Open Super 1000 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mohammad Ahsan
Hendra Setiawan		21–18, 17–21, 21–15 Champion
2019Japan Open Super 750 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mohammad Ahsan
Hendra Setiawan		21–18, 23–21 Champion
2019Indonesia Open Super 1000 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mohammad Ahsan
Hendra Setiawan		21–19, 21–16 Champion
2019Indonesia Masters Super 500 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mohammad Ahsan
Hendra Setiawan		21–17, 21–11 Champion
2019Malaysia Masters Super 500 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Ong Yew Sin
Teo Ee Yi		21–15, 21–16 Champion
2018Hong Kong Open Super 500 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Takeshi Kamura
Keigo Sonoda		21–13, 21–12 Champion
2018Fuzhou China Open Super 750 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon He Jiting
Tan Qiang		25–27, 21–17, 21–15 Champion
2018French OpenSuper 750 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Han Chengkai
Zhou Haodong		21–23, 21–8, 17–21 Runner-up
2018Denmark Open Super 750 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Takeshi Kamura
Keigo Sonoda		21–15, 21–16 Champion
2018Japan Open Super 750 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Li Junhui
Liu Yuchen		21–11, 21–13 Champion
2018Indonesia Open Super 1000 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Takuto Inoue
Yuki Kaneko		21–13, 21–16 Champion
2018All England Open Super 1000 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mathias Boe
Carsten Mogensen		21–18, 21–17 Champion
2018India Open Super 500 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kim Astrup
Anders Skaarup Rasmussen		21–14, 21–16 Champion
2018Indonesia Masters Super 500 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Li Junhui
Liu Yuchen		11–21, 21–10, 21–16 Champion

BWF Superseries (10 titles, 2 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation. BWF Superseries had two levels: Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries featured twelve tournaments around the world, introduced in 2011, with successful players invited to the World Superseries Finals held at the year end.
Men's doubles
YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
2017World Superseries Finals Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Liu Cheng
Zhang Nan		21–16, 21–15 Champion
2017Hong Kong Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mads Conrad-Petersen
Mads Pieler Kolding		21–12, 21–18 Champion
2017China Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mathias Boe
Carsten Mogensen		21–19, 21–11 Champion
2017Denmark Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Liu Cheng
Zhang Nan		16–21, 24–22, 19–21 Runner-up
2017Japan Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Takuto Inoue
Yuki Kaneko		21–12, 21–15 Champion
2017Korea Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mathias Boe
Carsten Mogensen		19–21, 21–19, 15–21 Runner-up
2017Malaysia Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Fu Haifeng
Zheng Siwei		21–14, 14–21, 21–12 Champion
2017India Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Angga Pratama
Ricky Karanda Suwardi		21–11, 21–15 Champion
2017All England Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Li Junhui
Liu Yuchen		21–19, 21–14 Champion
2016China Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Mathias Boe
Carsten Mogensen		21–18, 22–20 Champion
2016Australian Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Angga Pratama
Ricky Karanda Suwardi		21–14, 21–15 Champion
2016India Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Angga Pratama
Ricky Karanda Suwardi		21–17, 21–13 Champion

BWF Grand Prix (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation beginning in 2007.
Men's doubles
YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
2016Indonesia Masters Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pankaryanira Han Chengkai
Zhou Haodong		21–16, 21–18 Champion
2016Malaysia Masters Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Koo Kien Keat
Tan Boon Heong		18–21, 21–13, 21–18 Champion
2015Chinese Taipei Masters Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Hoon Thien How
Lim Khim Wah		21–12, 21–8 Champion
2015Chinese Taipei Open Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Fu Haifeng
Zhang Nan		13–21, 8–21 Runner-up
2014Indonesia Masters Selvanus Geh Marcus Fernaldi Gideon
Markis Kido		17–21, 22–20, 14–21 Runner-up
2014New Zealand Open Selvanus Geh Chen Hung-ling
Lu Chia-bin		15–21, 23–21, 21–11 Champion

BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Men's doubles
YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
2014Bulgarian International Selvanus Geh Edi Subaktiar
Ronald Alexander		21–19, 21–13 Champion
2014Vietnam International Selvanus Geh Robin Middleton
Ross Smith		21–14, 21–13 Champion
2011Singapore International Lukhi Apri Nugroho Agripina Pamungkas
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon		17–21, 9–21 Runner-up

Performance timeline

National team

Team events201120122013
Asian Junior ChampionshipsAQF Bronze
World Junior Championships7th4th Silver

Events201120122013
Asian Junior ChampionshipsA Bronze Bronze
World Junior ChampionshipsQF R3
R4 		QF
Silver

Men's doubles results against World Tour Level 2–4 finalist, World Tour Finals semifinalists, World Superseries finalists, World Superseries Finals semifinalists, World Championships semifinalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists paired with:
;Marcus Fernaldi Gideon
;Selvanus Geh