The Different Meanings of the Indonesia Masters Title

MEDAN, SUNDAY — The host athletes dominated the Indonesia Masters II Super 100 badminton championship by winning four titles. There is a different significance for the young and senior athletes who achieved these titles.

Indonesian athletes who won the Indonesia Masters II at GOR PBSI Pancing, Medan, North Sumatra, from October 21 to 26, are Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah in the men's singles, Marwan Faza/Aisyah Salsabila Putri Pranata (mixed doubles), and Raymond Indra/Nikolaus Joaquin (men's doubles). They are athletes aged 18 to 22 who hold the highest championship titles from the Super 100 level.

Another title for Indonesia was secured by the senior women's doubles team, Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti. Meanwhile, the women's singles championship was won by the senior Japanese player and 2017 world champion, Nozomi Okuhara.

For the young squad of Indonesia, this championship title serves as part of their preparation to face higher challenges. Raymond/Nikolaus even received their first title from Super 100 after winning the international challenge/series tournament, which is ranked below Super 100, four times this year.

In the final match on Sunday (26/10/2025), they defeated the experienced duo of players from different countries, Choi Sol-gyu/Goh V Shem (South Korea/Malaysia) with a score of 21-18, 17-21, 24-22. After failing on three match points from the score of 20-19, Raymond/Nikolaus won the match on the fourth match point.

"I am very relieved to have won the Super 100. Previously, with a different partner, I failed twice in the finals (Super 100). Together with Joaquin, I also failed to win once," said Raymond.

The failure referred to by Raymond is the defeat in the final of the Al Ain Masters in the United Arab Emirates during the first week of October. In 2024, Raymond also reached the finals of the Super 100 tournament at the Vietnam Open and the Indonesia Masters II while partnering with Patra Harapan Rindorindo.

Raymond recalled this burdensome experience when he faced match point. Furthermore, his opponent was an experienced athlete who frequently competed in high-level BWF World Tour events, allowing him to remain calm at critical moments.

Raymond was finally able to eliminate the nightmare of losing in the final thanks to the support of his partner, coach, and spectators. Raymond/Nikolaus was urged to remain calm by coach Andrei Adistia, even as they did not relent in their attacks to score points.

The results achieved by Raymond/Nikolaus, as part of the men's doubles athletes in the primary training camp, were better compared to when they competed in the Indonesia Masters I Super 100 in Riau in September. At that time, they lost in the semifinals.

This title will also serve as preparation to compete in tournaments at a higher level, namely the Korea Open Super 300, from November 4 to 9. This will be the second experience for Raymond/Nikolaus to compete in the BWF World Tour after losing in the first round of the Macau Open Super 300, from July 29 to August 3.

"After earning our degree here, we want to present ourselves with more confidence in Korea, and also perform better than our appearance in Macau," said Nikolaus.

Andrei stated that the Korea Open and the Australia Open Super 500 (November 18-23) will be tournaments to assess the capabilities of Raymond/Nikolaus in a more competitive environment. "The hope is that they can quickly catch up to the achievements of their seniors, but they still need experience and maturity in their play," said Andrei, who coaches the junior men's doubles alongside Chafidz Yusuf.

Marwan also aims to elevate his skill level to compete in the Super 300 tournament. "Previously, we often lost in the round of 16 at that level. We want to do better," said Marwan, who, along with Aisyah, defeated Jimmy Wong/Lai Pei Jing (Malaysia) 16-21, 21-19, 21-3 in the final of the Indonesia Masters II.

For Zaki, the championship title obtained after defeating Dong Tian Yao (China) 21-11, 21-8 in the final alleviated the disappointment following his loss in the Junior World Championship final in India, from October 6 to 19. Zaki and his teammates lost to China in the mixed team final, and then lost in the men's singles final in the individual category.

In the Super 100 tournament, the Indonesia Masters II became the second for the 18-year-old athlete after winning the Indonesia Masters I in 2024. In the tournament held in Riau a year ago, Zaki defeated his senior, Alwi Farhan, in the final.

In the final match between Indonesian players in the women's doubles, Apriyani/Fadia defeated their "younger" teammates at the national training center, Isyana Syahira Meida/Rinjani Kwinara Nastine, with a score of 21-11, 21-17. Unlike Zaki, Raymond/Nikolaus, and Marwan/Aisyah, Apriyani/Fadia won the Indonesia Masters II tournament after having the experience of securing titles in higher-level tournaments.

Apriyani holds championship titles from all levels of the BWF World Tour, namely Super 300, 500, 750, and 1000, alongside Fadia and Greysia Polii. The 27-year-old athlete even won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with Greysia.

However, given the current situation, Apriyani/Fadia must climb back from the bottom by competing in the Super 100 tournament. Currently, Apriyani/Fadia is ranked 94th in the world, making it difficult to secure a spot in major tournaments unless many pairs above them do not participate.

Another factor that compels them to participate in smaller tournaments is the need to rebuild connections, both in technical and non-technical aspects, after frequently changing partners.

Fadia played alongside Lanny Tria Mayasari when Apriyani was absent from the tournament for six months following the Paris 2024 Olympics. In March 2025, Fadia partnered again with Apri at the Orleans Masters and All England tournaments. However, the performance that did not meet the coach's expectations led Fadia to play again with Lanny, while Apriyani was paired with the young player, Febi Setianingrum, from April to August.

Then, when the women's doubles coaching team led by Karel Mainaky made a reshuffle of the pairs, Apriyani and Fadia were reunited in accordance with the World Championship in France in August. They competed in the Hong Kong and Korea Open Super 500 tournaments but were eliminated in the second round. Having not played together for a long time in high-level competition, Apriyani/Fadia struggled when facing top world pairs.

Before competing in the World Championship with Lanny, Fadia stated that she needed to prepare mentally to crawl back from the bottom alongside Apriyani. Competing again in lower-level tournaments does not mean it is easy to undertake, even though she already has extensive experience in winning major tournaments.

"The victory here serves to enhance the motivation of Fadia and me for the future. Our bond and communication have become more open and better," said Apriyani, reflecting on the results and performance at the Indonesia Masters II.

In addition to the Indonesia Masters II, during the same week, Indonesian athletes participated in the French Open Super 750 tournament. In the final held on Sunday night, only Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri represented Indonesia. They faced the world number one men's doubles pair, Seo Seung-jae/Kim Won-ho (South Korea).

The final held at the Glaz Arena in Cesson-Sevigne was the fourth of six tournaments for Fajar/Fikri since they paired up in July. They reached three finals in the last three tournaments, namely the Korea Open (September 23-28), the Denmark Open (October 14-19), and the France Open. The other final resulted in a championship title at the China Open in July.

In the two finals of the French Open held earlier, the championship titles were won by Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping in mixed doubles and An Se-young in women's singles. Feng/Huang defeated Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran with scores of 27-25, 21-12, while An triumphed over Wang Zhi Yi with scores of 21-13, 21-7. This marks the ninth title out of ten finals for An this year.