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One of Indonesia’s all-time great doubles players, Markis Kido, passed away on Monday from a suspected heart attack at the young age of 36.
Markis Kido won the men’s doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with Hendra Setiawan, and several other major titles including the World Championships.
In a career spanning nearly two decades, Markis Kido dominated the doubles section. Markis Kido has also been a regular player in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) ever since it was launched in India in 2013.
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Markis Kido reached the peak of his career in 2008 when he captured the gold medal for Indonesia with his long-time partner Hendra Setiawan. After claiming the Malaysian Super Series title, the pair of Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan teamed up to grab their most prestigious prize, the Olympic gold medal.
Markis Kido and Setiawan stunned hot favorites Chinese pair Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng 12-21, 21-11, 21-16 in a thrilling final. A year earlier, Markis Kido and Setiawan had lost to the same duo at the China Masters.
Markis Kido won the men’s doubles gold medal at the 2006 World Cup and 2007 World Championships with Hendra Setiawan. They also triumphed at the 2010 Asian Games. Markis Kido was a seven-time South East Asian Games gold medalist and also a 10-time Super Series champion.
Setiawan now plays alongside Mohammed Ahsan, with the pair ranked second in the world.
Unfortunate to lose Markis Kido at such a young age: Chirag Shetty
Several Indian doubles players were shocked to hear the news about Markis Kido and offered their condolences to the departed soul.
Tokyo Olympic-bound Chirag Shetty mourned the death of a legend and admitted that he was a fan of his top-class game:
“It’s really unfortunate to lose such a legend at a rather young age. When we played against him and his partner in Vietnam it was my first Challenge title. It was also my first big victory in a senior international tournament against a player of such stature. I was always in awe of his game,” said Chirag Shetty.
Former Indian doubles player Akshay Dewalkar said he was one of the greatest doubles players the world has ever seen:
“I came to know about his passing away this evening and I was completely shocked. He was certainly one of the legends of men’s doubles. I played against him on several occasions. He was very fast despite his weight. He was a tricky player and always used to confuse the opponents with his tricky shots. It is a big loss for world badminton, particularly the Indonesian badminton team who will miss him dearly,” said Akshay Dewalkar.
Dewalkar played twice against Markis Kido in the Thomas Cup and used to meet him regularly in the PBL:
“I played against him in the Thomas Cup in Malaysia on two occasions. In the first PBL (when it was called IBL) me and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark played against Markis Kido and Mathais Boe of Denmark. We represented the Bangalore team while they were playing for the Lucknow side. It was a very good match as Carsten and Mathais are regular doubles partners on the circuit but that time they were playing against each other. It was good fun,” said Akshay Dewalkar.
Dewalkar admired his nature and termed him a complete team man:
“He was always a down to earth person. He used to wear a smile on his face. Despite achieving so many laurels in the world of badminton he had no attitude. He was always a grounded person. He was a complete team man. In the PBL, when his team needed him in mixed doubles, he used to play mixed too. His sister Pia Bernadette was also part of the PBL and they had played together in the mixed doubles,” said Dewalkar.
Another former Indian player, Nishad Dravid, also consoled Kido’s untimely death.
“Markis Kido was a lovely cheerful guy. I played juniors against him in singles as well as doubles. Really sad to hear about him,” said Dravid, who has now settled in Canada.
"I first met him in Kyoto, Japan when I played my first Junior Asian. He was a singles specialist at the time and also one of the youngest in the squad. Always smiling and I could always sense he was those mischievous types like me and my colleague Amar Mohite. Looking at his strides in the coming years, I was sure he was going to make it big someday, something like his senior Taufik Hidayat. And he surely did. His massive jump before a signature jump smash will be something he will be remembered for. Will miss watching him," added Nishad Dravid.
