Fajar/Fikri Maintain Emotions for Denmark Open Semifinals

ODENSE, FRIDAY – The collaboration between Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri over the past four months has yielded positive results, qualifying for the semifinals for the fourth time out of five tournaments. The Indonesian men's doubles badminton players will maintain their composure as they prepare for the semifinals of the Denmark Open.

The duo, which has been paired since July, will compete in the semifinals at the JYSKE Bank Arena, Odense, Denmark, on Saturday (18/10/2025). They will face Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (China) after defeating Ben Lane/Sean Vendy (England) in the quarterfinals with a score of 21-8, 21-15.

We're delighted to have reached the semifinals again, consistently making it to the final rounds. This motivates us to do even better.

In the men's singles, Jonatan defeated Li Shi Feng (China) 21-18, 21-23, 21-17 to face the young French player, Alex Lanier, in the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, Lanier won against Lakhsya Sen, who eliminated the defending champion, Anders Antonsen, in the second round.

The semifinal at the Denmark Open marks the fourth semifinal for Fajar/Fikri after they reached the same stage at the China Masters, appeared in the final of the Korea Open, and won the China Open. They only lost in the quarterfinals at the Japan Open, which was their debut as a pair. Except for the Korea Open, which is a BWF World Tour Super 500 event, the other tournaments are at the Super 750 and 1000 levels.

"I am happy to reach the semifinals again, consistently advancing to the final stages. This serves as motivation for us to improve even further. Hopefully, tomorrow we can showcase a good performance once again," commented Fajar, who has been partnered with Muhammad Rian Ardianto for 11 years.

By maintaining their motivation, Fajar/Fikri strive to remain vigilant with the good results they have achieved. Moreover, as Fikri mentioned, he played poorly against Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard in the second round, and this could be improved when facing Lane/Vendy.

The Indonesian pair, ranked 35th in the world, will not be complacent despite their advantage in meetings with Liang/Wang. Fajar/Fikri have always won in two encounters on Liang/Wang's home ground, namely in the semifinals of the China Open and the second round of the China Masters.

The victory in three games at the China Masters in September, after defeating the silver medalist of the Paris 2024 Olympics in two games at the China Open, indicates that Liang/Wang have studied the game of Fajar/Fikri.

"We must not be complacent because we have a better record in meetings against Liang/Wang. On the contrary, we must remain vigilant, stay focused on the field, and not think too far ahead," said Fikri.

Unlike Fajar/Fikri, Jonatan will compete in the semifinals of the Super 750 tournament for the first time in nine months, despite having won the Korea Open three weeks prior to competing in Denmark. Jonatan reached the semifinals of the India Open in January, but after that, he was more frequently eliminated in the early rounds of the Super 750 and 1000 tournaments.

"Thank God, I am grateful to reach the semifinals again, experiencing the atmosphere of a Super 750 semifinal after such a long time. I played quite well today, but there are still things that need to be improved for tomorrow," said Jonatan.

Reflecting on his performance against Li Shi Feng, Jonatan said he needed to be more composed when his opponent started to close in on him. Jonatan actually had a good chance of winning the quarterfinals in straight games when he led 16-10 and created match point at 20-18.

However, as Li approached, Jonatan continued to play the same pattern, which was fast play that had already been anticipated by his opponent. The Indonesian player, ranked sixth in the world, stated that he should have played more patiently to create opportunities for launching an attack.

The quarterfinal moment serves as a lesson for facing Lanier in the semifinals. The match to be held in the final session of the semifinals will be the first encounter with Lanier, but Jonatan must remain cautious as Lanier, being a European player, could be supported by a majority of the audience.

In addition to Lanier, Europe is also represented by the host player, Viktor Axelsen, who will face Shi Yu Qi in the semifinals. Axelsen, the gold medalist of the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, is unseeded at the Denmark Open but he defeated Chou Tien Chen in the first round and Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarterfinals. His performance has been improving after a six-month absence, from March to September, due to a back injury.

The journey of Rian/Rahmat Hidayat in their debut as a pair was halted by Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (India) in the quarter-finals with a score of 15-21, 21-18, 16-21. This result serves as a foundation for them to collaborate in other tournaments in the following two weeks, namely the French Open and the Hylo Open in Germany.

"The results in our debut were quite good, but there is still much to improve. As seen earlier, we were not performing well in the first and second strikes. This will be the focus of our improvements for the next encounter with them," said Rahmat.

Rian expressed regret over his suboptimal performance against Rankireddy/Shetty, which hindered him from matching Rahmat's good display. "Aside from that, I hope the results here will bring a positive trend in France and the Hylo Open," said Rian.

The formation of Rian/Rahmat is part of the search for the best men's doubles team, alongside Fajar/Fikri, to face the upcoming years with the major target of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The men's doubles coaching team at the national training center is utilizing the remaining time in 2025 to establish the strongest formation.

In addition to Rian/Rahmat, Fajar/Fikri, and Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana, who have been paired since August 2024, a new formation that will be tested is Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan/Rinov Rivaldy. These two players have previously partnered during their junior years, including when they reached the semifinals of the 2017 Junior World Championship.

So far, Rinov has been playing in mixed doubles alongside Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, but their performance has not improved despite being the junior world champions in 2017. In their previous formation in men's doubles, Yeremia/Rahmat also showed stagnation. This pair will undergo a "trial" at the Indonesia International Challenge tournament in Yogyakarta, from November 11 to 16, 2025.

At the 2025 Junior World Championship in Guwahati, India, only three representatives from Indonesia will compete in the semifinals on Saturday. They are the top two seeded men's singles players, Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah and Richie Duta Ricardo, as well as the men's doubles pair, Alexius Ongkytama Subagio/Aquino Evano Kennedy Tangka.

Zaki, a semifinalist in the same event in 2024, and Richie will face players from China. Zaki will meet Li Zhi Hang for the first time, while Richie will encounter a tough challenge against Liu Yang Ming Yu. In their three previous encounters, Richie has always lost to Liu, including one match in the semifinals of the 2025 Asian Junior Championship in Solo, Central Java.

"Preparation to face Liu requires maintaining focus and mental strength to perform at a higher level and achieve better results," said Richie, who lost in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Junior World Championship.