Kevin, Gideon, Minions, dan All England

It’s been a week since Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo clinched their first ever All England title. Yet, it still feels so surreal to me :’)

Gue pertama lihat Kevin/Gideon di pertandingan beregu di SEA Games 2015. Waktu itu udah lamaaa gue gak ngikutin badminton gegara kerja dsb. Tapi nggak tau kenapa, saat melihat Kevin/Gideon di SEA Games 2015 itu gue jadi deja vu… seperti melihat lagi Ricky Soebagdja/Rexy Mainaky di Olimpiade Atlanta 1996, momen yang membuat gue pertama kali jatuh cinta pada bulutangkis.

They finished as second best at SEA Games 2015, lost to their seniors, Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi. And this is the beginning of the story of how I have my eyes on them.

Kevin/Gideon yang bikin gue jadi semangat ngikutin bulutangkis lagi. They’ve brought back the feeling and excitement I’ve forgotten for almost 7 years. Padahal waktu itu bisa dibilang mereka masih “bukan siapa-siapa”. Di bawah bayang-bayang Hendra/Ahsan dan Angga/Ricky pokoknya. But I have faith in them!

Seperti ada sesuatu dalam diri mereka, the X factor which I could not explain, yang bikin gue percaya, suatu hari nanti mereka akan jadi bintang besar. Mereka memang terbilang “mini” untuk ukuran pemain ganda putra (Gideon 169 cm, Kevin 170 cm), tapi lincahnya bukan main! Kalau di lapangan, seperti bisa membal ke sana kemari dengan sangat cepat! That’s why, and how, I started to call them “Minions” 🤗

Gue sempat ketemu Gideon pas SEA Games 2015 itu. Sama Angga, Ricky, Kevin, Jordan, Debby dan beberapa atlet lainnya juga, di daerah City Hall. Ajegile, pas ketemu mah I totally got star-strucked, tapi muka badak aja nyapa dan ngajak foto bareng. Yang sama Kevin nggak sempat foto bareng, soalnya doi lagi.. beli pulsa, dan malah kelihatan nervous gitu gue samperin. MWAHAHA. Harusnya sih gue yang nervous, Vin.

With Ricky and Gideon. Aslinya mah minian gue daripada Gideon :’)

Di beberapa turnamen paska SEA Games, Minions masih suka naik-turun, nggak stabil. Mungkin mereka masih berusaha nyari pola permainan yang cocok, masih beradaptasi.

Waktu mereka merangsek ke final Taipei Grand Prix Gold 2015, I know the time has come. Memang mereka akhirnya kalah dari Zhang Nan/Fu Haifeng di final, but deep inside I believe they are on the right track.

Muka Gideon sedih amat, rasanya pengen gue puk-puk :’)

Sampai akhirnya mereka jadi juara di Taipei Grand Prix, akhir 2015…

Kemudian, juara Malaysia Grand Prix Gold di awal 2016…

Lalu gelar Super Series pertama mereka di India Super Series 2016…

Lanjut ke Australia Super Series 2016…

Naik level lagi ke juara China Super Series Premiere 2016…

Dan puncaknya mereka juara di All England, turnamen bulutangkis tertua di dunia yang jadi mimpi begitu banyak pebulutangkis terkenal. I truly, seriously, definitely, couldn’t be happier 😭❤

***

I cried the night they won their All England title.

Because I was too happy. Too proud. And too worry. It’s all mixed up to the extent I couldn’t name the feeling.

In his interview with BWF, Kevin said, “This is an extraordinary feeling. It was my childhood dream to win the All England. I didn’t expect it to happen so soon but I am extremely happy.”

You know what? I didn’t expect it to happen this soon, either :’)

And the victory has brought them as BWF WORLD #1 RANK IN MEN’S DOUBLES 😭❤

I’ve seen them fought. Lost. Won. Fell. Rose again. Makin banyak yang kenal mereka, yang menaruh harap pada mereka. Mereka bukan lagi “bukan siapa-siapa”. And I’m not ready for it. I’m not ready that now I have to share my happy-little-world of Minions with hundred thousands of people, or even millions, out there.

I saw Kevin/Gideon’s fan base accounts emerge in social media. I saw more and more people cheer for both of them. I read how much they adore Kevin and Gideon.

And I worry that it will only be temporary.

Sooner or later, there will be time when Minions don’t end up as a champion. Mungkin mereka akan kalah di R1, R2, quarter final, semifinal, bahkan di final itu sendiri. Mereka mungkin akan kecewa, mengecewakan, dikecewakan.

And being a BL (Badminton Lover) myself, I know how mean, rude, and harsh the comment could be, if Minions fail to meet the expectation. I might say, “Who cares?” But my heart is still wrecked whenever I read those heartless comments. I feel like saying, “How dare you! You just know them recently, you have no idea how hard they have been fighting for this!”

*kemudian toyor kepala mereka satu-satu*

Gue yang pertama menjuluki mereka Minions, dan sekarang gue melihat julukan itu beredar di mana-mana. I still got a tingling feeling when I read the nickname at Kompas, when I heard it at Kevin/Gideon’s interview at Metro TV, but more than everything… I am happy 😭❤ Itu berarti, Kevin/Gideon bukan lagi Minions idola gue saja, tapi sekarang idola banyak orang.

Semua perasaan campur aduk yang gue rasakan itu sudah berhasil ditutupi oleh perasaan bangga, because I have witnessed them grow from zero to hero.

Asem, kok gue jadi merasa kayak ibu yang bahagia melihat anaknya tumbuh dewasa? 😂

Afterall, I wanna say thank you, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, my Minions.. our Minions, for letting me seeing you grow. Won. Lost. Got back on your feet. Walk. Run. And now fly. Keep up the good fight and win more races!

Tetap jadi Kevin yang medhok, tukang molor. Juga Gideon yang suaranya cempreng (ini beneran gue kaget pertama dengar suaranya, LOL) tapi dewasa. Keep being you.

I’ll see you next month!

PS: Bonus foto bareng Kevin di World Championship 2015 (waktu itu doi belum ikutan, tapi mudah-mudahan tahun ini Juara Dunia, yess?) dan Djarum Superliga 2017 di Surabaya.