Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo

Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (born 2 August 1995) is an Indonesian professional badminton player currently ranked world number 1 in the men's doubles by the Badminton World Federation. He plays for PB Djarum, and has been a member of the club since 2007. He won the men's doubles titles at the All England Open in 2017 and 2018; World Superseries Finals in 2017; and at the Asian Games in 2018. He also featured in the Indonesia winning team at the Southeast Asian Games in 2015, and at the Asia Team Championships in 2018 and 2020. Together with his current partner, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, they were awarded the BWF Best Male Players of the Year for two years in a row after collecting seven Superseries 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, jumping and bouncing just like the Minions in the film Despicable Me. BWF commentator, Gillian Clark stated that the fast play shown by Sukamuljo and Gideon have taken the men's doubles game to a new level and makes the matches exciting to watch.
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. 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" at the Tangkas Specs Junior Challenge after showing a good performance and finished as runner-up in that tournament. 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 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. 
In July, Sukamuljo and Gideon competing as an unseeded pair in the Chinese Taipei Open, and the duo 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 Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan. After this tournament, Indonesian badminton fans dub them as "the Minions" because of their below average height and for their fast and agile playing style, jumping and bouncing just like the Minions in the film Despicable Me. The former badminton player who is currently a BWF commentator, Gillian Clark, also highlighted that the fast play shown by Sukamuljo and Gideon have taken the men's doubles game to a new level and makes the matches exciting to watch. In the next tournament, the duo then 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 won the silver medal, losing the final 2 matches to 3 against 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 tournament 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 Superseries 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 Superseries 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 Superseries Finals, making them the first men's doubles pair to win seven Superseries titles in a year.
2018: Asian Games gold medalists.
Under the new BWF player commitment regulations, Sukamuljo and Gideon who ranked as world number 1, are obligated to play in 12 BWF World Tour. They were unbeaten in the first 3 tournaments that they participated in, capturing his second Indonesia Masters and All England Open, and also his third India Open titles. He and Gideon then defeated at the quarterfinals of Malaysia Open by Chinese pair He Jiting and Tan Qiang. In July, he and Gideon won the Indonesia Open, however, in the quarterfinals Sukamuljo felt the umpire was not fair during a match and he continued to protest, and earned him a yellow card from the umpire. At the 2018 World Championships, Sukamuljo and Gideon lost in the quarterfinals to Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda in straight games.
Sukamuljo competed at the 2018 Asian Games, won a silver in the team events, and then captured the men's doubles gold medal, after he and Gideon beat their compatriots Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in a close rubber games in the final. In September, he and Gideon retained their Japan Open title, defeating the reigning World Champions Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen. A week later, they finished as semifinalists in China Open, lost to Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong of China. On the Europe tour in October, Sukamuljo and Gideon clinched the Denmark Open title. But in France, they again defeated by Han and Zhou in the final, made their head-to-head record deficit to 1–2. In November, he and Gideon won the Fuzhou China Open and Hong Kong Open. After the victory they achieved in Hong Kong, Sukamuljo and Gideon managed to set a record as the first ever men's doubles pair to win eight world tour titles in a season. At the 2018 BWF World Tour Finals gala dinner, the duo then awarded as the BWF Best Male Players of the Year for two consecutive year. As the defending champions of the World Tour Finals, Sukamuljo and Gideon had to withdraw from the competition before their last group match, due to the neck injury suffered by Gideon.
2019: Eight World Tour titles.
Sukamuljo opened the season in January by winning his second Malaysia Masters and third Indonesia Masters titles. He and Gideon reached his record 20th titles at the Superseries/Super 500 above tournaments. They later had to defeat in the early round of 2019 All England Open to Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan. In April, they lost in the quarter finals at the Malaysia Open, and in the semifinals of Singapore Open. He then played at the Asian Championships held in Wuhan, China as first seed. He and Gideon proceeded to the final, but inflicted a crushing defeat by number 5 seed Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe. He then played with Indonesia mixed team at the Sudirman Cup held in Nanning, China. Teamed up with Gideon, they have never lost in their three matches against England, Chinese Taipei and Japan, but the team lost 1–3 in the semifinals tie against Japan.
In July, Sukamuljo successfully defended his title at the Indonesia Open, later won the Japan Open for three consecutive times alongside Gideon. They beat Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in straight games in the final in both events. In August, the duo managed to reaching the quarter finals of Thailand Open, but stopped by the Japanese pair Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe. They then suffered first match loss, in the second round of Basel World Championships to Choi Sol-gyu and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea after they succumbed 21–23 in the deciding game. In September, Sukamuljo and Gideon won their third China Open title, beating Ahsan and Setiawan in the final. They next went to Korea Open, but lost in the quarter finals to Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. In October, he won his second Denmark Open and first French Open titles with Gideon. At the East Asia tour in November, he won the Fuzhou China Open, and the following week he lost in the quarter finals at the Hong Kong Open against Endo and Watanabe. He and Gideon were nominated again as the BWF Best Male Player of the Year, but this time they lost to Kento Momota of Japan. They entered the World Tour Finals as the first seed. In the group stage, they beat Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen, lost to Endo and Watanabe, and then in the last match, they won against Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda, progressed to the next round as group runners-up. In the semifinal, they again defeated by the Japanese pair Endo and Watanabe, made their head-to-head record deficit to 2–5. Sukamuljo ended the 2019 season by winning eight World Tour titles, including three in a row at Denmark, France and China.
2020–2021.
Sukamuljo began his 2020 season by playing in the Malaysia Masters, pairing up with Marcus Fernaldi Gideon again. However, they finished in the quarter finals after losing to Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in a close rubber game. Sukamuljo later won his fourth consecutive Indonesia Masters title (third with Gideon) defeating Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in straight games. In February, he alongside Indonesia men's team won the Asia Team Championships held in Manila. In March, he played at the All England Open with Gideon. The duo failed to win the title after lost to Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe in the final. This was their sixth loss in a row over Endo and Watanabe. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous tournaments on the 2020 BWF World Tour were either cancelled or rescheduled for later in the year. In June, he then took part at the PBSI home tournament partnered with Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani. The duo won four matches, but unable to accomplish their victory after lost their last match against Fajar Alfian and Yeremia Rambitan, and finished as runner-up at that tournament. Sukamuljo planned to return in the international competitions at the 2020 Asian Leg tournament in January 2021, but then he had to withdrawn from the competition after tested positive for COVID-19 in December 2020.
Sukamuljo made his comeback at the All England Open in March 2021. He and Gideon had played in the first round by beating the host pair Matthew Clare and Ethan van Leeuwen in a rubber game, but later Indonesia team were forced to withdraw from the competition by BWF after the team members will self-isolate for 10 days from the date of their inbound flight after an anonym person traveling onboard tested positive for COVID-19.
Achievements.
Asian Games.
"Men's doubles"
Asian Championships.
"Men's doubles"
Southeast Asian Games.
"Men's doubles"
BWF World Junior Championships.
"Mixed doubles"
Asian Junior Championships.
"Boys' doubles"
BWF World Tour (17 titles, 2 runners-up).
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.
"Men's doubles"
BWF Superseries (10 titles, 2 runners-up).
The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels are Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consists of twelve tournaments around the world that have been introduced since 2011. Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year.
"Men's doubles"
BWF Grand Prix (4 titles, 2 runners-up).
The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
"Men's doubles"
BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles, 1 runner-up).
"Men's doubles"
BWF Junior International.
"Mixed doubles"
Record against selected opponents.
Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon.
Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon have ten winning streaks in the head-to-head record against Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi. They also lead the meeting record with a wide margin against Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China and their senior compatriots Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. Meanwhile, Sukamuljo and Gideon have a poor head-to-head record against Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe (2–6), Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong (0–3), and also Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan (1–3).