Home2020Leo and Daniel are Future Stars of Men's Doubles

Leo and Daniel are Future Stars of Men’s Doubles

 

Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin, born just days apart on July 29 and 31, 2001, have struck up a formidable partnership that is destined to rock the badminton world.

 

Their closeness, maybe due to the proximity of their birthdays, tremendous passion and commitment has seen them achieve outstanding results in junior events these past few years.

From their humble beginnings at their club, PB Djarum, the duo progressed into a top rate pair and clearly among Asia's rising stars.  

Leo, who originally wanted to be a singles player, had always loved the game and made several attempts to join PB Djarum where he would eventually be paired up with Daniel, who idolises doubles star Candra Wijaya.

They would compete in several junior internationals including in Singapore and Korea but it will be in 2018 when they would start to produce some solid results. Armed with several years of experience, Leo and Daniel would go on to secure the Malaysia International Junior, India Junior International, Turkey International and Bangladesh International doubles titles.

That same year, they would stumble at the R16 stage of the BWF World Junior Championships.

However, Leo and Daniel would return to World Juniors in stunning form the following year and sensationally claim the title, beating China’s Di Zijian and Wang Chang in the final. It was the first time since 1992 that Indonesia had won the world junior doubles title.

In the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships earlier, Leo and Daniel would play a sterling role in Indonesia’s first-ever Suhandinata Cup title since its introduction in 2000.

Both Leo and Daniel have also featured in the mixed doubles category where they have won several titles along the way.

In 2018, Leo partnered Indah Cahya Sari Jamil and went on to win the gold medal in the BWF World Junior Championships. In the 2019 BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships, Daniel partnered Indah.

The dynamic pair have earned praises all round, among them from Indonesian legend and Olympic gold medalist, Alan Budi Kusuma who is confident they are well on their way to the top. “Leo at the front is very fast and accurate. He’s a lot like Kevin. Daniel is powerful. So, they are the future of men’s doubles,” said Alan after the team won the Suhandinata Cup.

For the two youngsters, the Covid-19 global pandemic has thrown a spanner in their works. The duo was on the rise but like athletes throughout the world, they have to sit back due to the disease. “The tournaments were cancelled for the safety of everyone. Let’s see how things go,” Leo told the Indonesia media.

Once the competition resumes, Leo and Daniel will likely pick up from where they left off and start challenging for the top honours. While it may be too early to make any predictions now but the signs are bright that they will go all the way to the top.

 

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