JAKARTA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The host country's hopes of securing a championship title in at the International Badminton Super Series' premiere tournament seemed to fade away as its only chance of winning a final was easily dispatched in the qualifying round held here on Wednesday.
The no. 1 men's doubles pair from Indonesia, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, had to walk away from the week-long tournament after they were defeated by non-seeded Danish players Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in an easy two game match lasting 34 minutes, 16-21,16-21.
"We played very carefully today. I have a problem in my shoulder ligament, which was torn Wednesday last week. The medical team did not tell me when I can make a full recovery," Kevin told a press conference after the match.
Marcus, for his part, that they ran into problems with the wind in the new badminton arena making it difficult to control their playing style.
The Indonesian Badminton Association has pinned its hopes on the pair in the men's doubles tournament.
The no. 1 Indonesian pairing won championship titles at several recent premier tournaments including the All England, India Open and Malaysia Open.
Indonesia has never won in any group in the annual tournament since 2013 when its men's doubles pairing Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan bagged a victory.
Meanwhile in other qualifying match, a Chinese non-seeded women's doubles pairing of Huang Yaqiong/Yu Xiaohan surprisingly defeated no. 1 Japanese shuttlers Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi 21-7, 22-20.
A Chinese non-seeded pairing of Liu Cheng/Zhang Nan also secured a men's doubles berth over Malaysian contenders Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi in a straight two-game match, 21-17, 21-12.
Several Chinese shuttlers are scheduled to vie later on this Wednesday, with qualifying matches scheduled in the new badminton arena in the Jakarta Convention Center.
The tournament carries a prize of 1 million U.S. dollars in total, the largest jackpot up for grabs in BWF- sanctioned super series tournaments this year.
