Alwi Farhan Fulfills His Dream at the Korea Open

SUWON, FRIDAY – A total of five Indonesian quarter-finalists in the 2025 Korea Open badminton tournament have advanced their status to semi-finalists. Two of them will face each other in a match eagerly awaited by Indonesian badminton fans, namely Alwi Farhan against Jonatan Christie.

Alwi and Jonatan will meet at the Suwon Gymnasium, South Korea, on Saturday (27/9/2025). They will perform alongside Amri Syahnawi/Nita Violina Marwah, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, and Putri Kusuma Wardani.

Thanks to the semifinal match between Alwi and Jonatan, Indonesia is assured of having a representative in the men's singles final. One of them will face Anders Antonsen or Chou Tien Chen in the final.

The meeting with Jonatan is a dream come true for Alwi. He had expressed this desire ahead of the Indonesia Open tournament in Jakarta last June. The draw allowed for both to meet in the quarter-finals, and it nearly materialized, but Alwi and Jonatan were eliminated in the second round.

Three months after the Indonesia Open, Alwi's wish will finally come true. "Finally, I'll meet my idol in an official match, Koh Jonatan. Whoever wins, it's for Indonesia," Alwi said.

Alwi advanced to the semifinals after defeating Weng Hong Yang, 4-21, 21-16, 21-17. Meanwhile, Jonatan halted the progress of Kenta Nishimoto with a score of 21-14, 21-8, the player who had defeated Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the second round.

Last June, Alwi recounted that during his childhood, he often watched Jonatan on television. Another memorable moment was when Jonatan assisted the men's singles coach of the national training center, Indra Widjaja, in supporting Alwi from behind the court during the mixed team championship of the Sudirman Cup, held in Xiamen, China from April 27 to May 4.

Jonatan's support, as the captain of the Indonesian team, helped Alwi win two matches, namely against Antonsen (Denmark) in the group stage and Cho Geonyop (South Korea) in the semifinals. However, Indonesia lost to South Korea 2-3 in the semifinals.

Thank God, I was able to bounce back in the next two games.

After the Sudirman Cup, Jonatan resigned from the national training center to become an independent athlete. Alwi then received the "baton" from his senior as the number one men's singles player in the national training center based on his position in the world ranking.

The national training center still has Anthony as the most senior player, based on age and experience, in men's singles. However, due to a six-month absence from tournaments (right shoulder injury), Anthony has lost many ranking points, resulting in his position being overtaken by Alwi since May.

Currently, based on the latest ranking released by BWF on September 23, Alwi occupies the 21st position, below Jonatan (6) and above Anthony (75). Among Alwi and Anthony, there are three other Indonesian men's singles players.

The meeting between Alwi and Jonatan, which will take place for the first time, is welcomed with enthusiasm by badminton fans in Indonesia. On social media, they hope that both players can showcase their best abilities to create an exciting match.

Before reaching the semifinals in Suwon, Alwi had previously reached another semifinal in the BWF World Tour tournament, namely when he won the Macau Open. However, the level of the Macau Open is below that of the Korea Open, which is Super 300.

To be able to defeat Jonatan or at least provide a tight resistance, Alwi must accelerate his adaptation to the conditions of the court. During the quarter-finals, the 2023 junior world champion was slow to adapt, which prevented him from overcoming the pressure in the early games.

"The conditions on the field were quite intense, which disrupted my performance in the first game; my adaptation was delayed. Meanwhile, Weng Hong Yang had already taken control of the game from the start. Thank God, I was able to recover in the next two games," said Alwi, who won for the third time out of four encounters against the Chinese player.

Jonatan is no stranger to the competitive atmosphere of the Super 500 tournament semifinals, and even higher levels. He has secured seven BWF World Tour titles across all levels, namely Super 300, 500, 750, and 1000.

Nevertheless, the 28-year-old athlete had to wait a long time to return to the semifinals, since reaching the final of the Indonesia Masters in Jakarta in January. "Thank God I can reach the semifinals, it has been quite a long wait for me. Moreover, there was a significant injury that was very disruptive, but gradually the condition started to recover, I began to gain momentum again and my confidence could emerge," said Jonatan.

In addition to Alwi, the rare opportunity to compete in the semifinals of the Super 500 tournament will also be experienced by Amri/Nita. They secured a semifinal ticket after defeating the fourth-seeded pair from China, Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui, with a score of 11-21, 21-17, 21-16.

The result and victory over other seeded players, Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito (6), in the second round will serve as preparation for Amri/Nita to face the world’s second-ranked mixed doubles team, Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping.

Amri/Nita also have experience reaching the semifinals of a tournament of the same level, at the Thailand Open in May. However, their progress was halted by Feng/Huang.

"Feng/Huang have an extraordinary focus, and they are not easily disturbed. That is the factor we must be wary of," said Nita, reflecting on their meetings at the Thailand Open and the second round of the Malaysia Open earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Amri stated that he and Nita had to fight hard against Feng/Huang. "We also have to be prepared to reach our limits and be brave in competing," said Amri.

The opportunity to avenge her defeat is also available to Putri, who will face Akane Yamaguchi in the semifinals. The Japanese athlete has consistently been the player who defeated Putri in the previous two tournaments, namely in the semifinals of the World Championship and the quarterfinals of the China Masters.

Putri was able to put up a fight while playing three games at the World Championship in France, but she lost more quickly, with a score of 14-21, 11-21, when facing off at the China Masters.

"I want to improve my game. Also, there is certainly a curiosity to win. I must strengthen my mindset and not make too many unforced errors," said Putri after defeating the host representative, Kim Ga-eun, 21-6, 21-15.

In the men's doubles sector, Fajar/Fikri have the opportunity to advance further compared to the semifinals of the China Masters last week. They will face Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan after defeating Jin Yong/Na Sung-seung with a score of 21-13, 21-16.