Markis - Hendra remain upbeat despite loss at Malaysia Open

The Olympics men double champion Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan were knocked out at the second stage of Malaysia Grand Prix Gold event by an unseeded young Malaysian pairs, but that did not seems to have affected their happy mood - both of them are getting maried this year !

"I will tie the knot in Jully while Hendra will do so in October. We will be tasked with new responsibilities, and I forsee it is going to be a very meaningful and interesting year ahead for us." Said the 27-year-old Markis.

The 2007 World champion and 2008 Olympics gold medalist left national team earlier last year. Some have predicted that their performance will degrade along with their exit from national team. But the prediction was proven wrong after they have won the 2010 Asian Game after defeating Jung Jae Sung & Lee Yong Dae in the semifinal and Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong in the final. They have remained to be one of the most competitive team in the men double events.

Despite of their achievement in winning many major titles , All England title remain elusive to the top Indonesian pair. They are eyeing for the long awaited title next march, and hope to defend their Olympics title in London. When asked, Markis remain optimistic about the chances of defending the Olympic title, which might be the last Olympics game for the duo.

They continue to enjoy the badminton game without the restriction and pressure from Badminton Association of Indonesia. Perhaps been an independent profesional players will only make them to be an even better players, and continue to play high quality badminton.