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Badminton

Why is this Indonesian badminton pair called Minions?

The men's double pair of Kevin Sukamuljo and Marcus Gideon, famously known as 'Minions', is ranked number 1 in the world.

Kevin Sukamuljo and Marcus Gideon
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Kevin Sukamuljo and Marcus Gideon (Source: PSBI/PBSI)

By

Kalptaru Agarwal

Updated: 14 Jan 2022 6:28 AM GMT

The World No. 1 Indonesian badminton duo in the men's doubles category, Kevin Sukamuljo and Marcus Gideon gained the limelight amongst the Indian fans when they defeated the pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in the group stage match at the Tokyo Olympics. The Minions of the badminton world dominated the game and took it in a comfortable fashion.

The hopes for all badminton fans in India were on Indonesia's match against Chinese Taipei whom the Indians thrashed in an exciting contest. But unfortunately, they lost ending the hope for the men's doubles pair from India.

But one thing which was most talked about was the name given to them - "THE MINIONS."

Why are they given the title of the tiny yellow species which you must have seen in movies like Despicable Me?

The fact is that their height is below average than most of the players in the game of badminton. Both of them are relatively short with neither of them measuring past 170m. It's tough for them to handle this pressure but they compensate it with their agile moves and quick speed on the court.

The inspiration to give them the name comes from the nature of their play which is to bounce around as fast as possible which is the common perception of how Minions moves about and that's why the name "The Minions."

Markus and Kevin have won numerous international titles and holds the top spot since September 2017. Markus Gideon also stated when he was asked about this name,

"We don't mind, it's a little bit of fun. And our size helps us play a much faster game of badminton so we can still be very competitive against the rest of the Paris."

Qualifying the group stages, the Minions will be eyeing a medal position at the Tokyo Olympics.

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