Fajar/Fikri Become New Men's Doubles Option

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — After winning the China Open, Fajar Alfian/Mohammad Shohibul Fikri have become one of the options for a new men's doubles formation. This is part of the search for doubles players who are ready to compete at the highest level starting in 2026, with the main target being the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Fajar/Fikri won the China Open Super 1000 held in Changzhou from July 22 to 27. This marks Indonesia's first title from a high-level BWF tournament in 2025 after only securing two championship titles from Super 300 events. Indonesia's last title from the BWF World Tour Super 750 or 1000 tournaments was when Jonatan Christie and Fajar/Muhammad Rian Ardianto triumphed at the All England 2024.

On their journey to the highest podium, Fajar/Fikri defeated top world players, including the world number one men's doubles pair, Seo Seung-jae/Kim Won-ho, in the quarter-finals in two games. In two games as well, they triumphed over the silver medalists of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang, in the semifinals.

In the final match, it was the turn of the bronze medalists from the last two Olympics, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, who were defeated through fast play at the front of the court.

Fajar/Fikri won the China Open and reached the quarter-finals of the Japan Open the week before, competing as a temporary pair due to their inability to compete with their respective partners.

Rian (Fajar's partner) was absent from the tournament after the Indonesia Open due to awaiting the birth of his child. Meanwhile, Daniel Marthin, who became Fikri's partner since August 2024, suffered a left knee injury while playing in the Sudirman Cup in May and underwent surgery a month later. Additionally, as a men's doubles player ranked in the top ten in the world at the end of 2024, Fajar is required to fulfill his obligations to participate in the Super 1000 tournaments.

From the temporary pairing, the collaboration between Fajar and Fikri could continue. "Considering their performance, especially after winning in China, Fajar/Fikri could be one of the options to be continued. There is a possibility that Rian will be paired with a junior player. Thus, there are several options for the men's doubles," said the Head of Development and Achievement Division of PP PBSI Eng Hian at the national badminton training center in Jakarta, Thursday (31/7/2025).

However, the certainty of the continuation of the Fajar/Fikri duo will not happen immediately. In the upcoming event, namely the World Championship in Paris, France, from August 25 to 31, Fajar will play again with Rian. Although he has not participated in tournaments since June, Rian continues to train regularly at the national training center.

Initially, the player who was to be paired with the primary player was Fikri. Moreover, Daniel is still in the recovery phase. As stated by Eng Hian, based on the medical team's recommendation, Daniel is predicted to be able to compete only in January 2026.

Based on this, PBSI rejected the BWF's invitation to include Fikri/Daniel as the first reserve for the men's doubles at the World Championship. With that status, they could compete if another pair withdrew. However, since Daniel was not ready to compete, PBSI declined the invitation on July 28, which was announced by BWF on July 29.

According to the latest data from BWF, Indonesia's men's doubles will be represented by three pairs in Paris, namely Fajar/Rian, Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, and Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana.

In addition to Fajar/Rian, Leo/Bagas, and Fikri/Daniel, the main national training center for men's doubles also includes Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan/Rahmat Hidayat. Yeremia is a player of the same generation as Fikri/Daniel and Leo/Bagas; however, his achievements have lagged behind those of his peers.

After no longer playing with Pramudya Kusumawardana, who moved to Australia, Yeremia partnered with Rahmat, who is currently 22 years old. The best result for Yeremia/Rahmat is winning the Indonesia Masters Super 100 in 2024.

In the world rankings, Yeremia/Rahmat is in the 50th position, trailing behind Fikri and his teammates in the top 20 of the world. Among the eight athletes in the primary training camp, the pair with the best world ranking is Raymond Indra/Nikolaus Joaquin in the 107th position.

Eng Hian stated that there are already several options for primary players who will be paired with Fikri or Rian; however, the certainty of this new pairing and its tournament program will be determined after further discussions with the men's doubles coach led by Antonius.

Fikri stated that the coach has not informed about the continuation of the pair and the program after the China Open. "I am ready to be paired with anyone. I hope the championship title at the China Open will be a turning point for me, allowing for better performance in the future," said Fikri.

Although he has not yet received a schedule for the upcoming tournament he will participate in, Fikri trains every day. One of the training sessions he underwent on Thursday morning until noon involved playing one against three. On a different court, Fikri, Rian, Leo, and Bagas faced off against three primary players.

The China Open title became the first title for Fikri after the All England 2022 alongside Bagas. Following that, the pairings of Fikri/Bagas and Fikri/Daniel appeared in seven finals of the BWF World Tour tournaments, but always ended up losing.

In addition to the men's doubles, changes in the pairing formation will also be made in the women's doubles. Since the conclusion of the Paris 2024 Olympics, which is the peak target for all athletes, the women's doubles have undergone various overhauls. One of the conditions that forced this change is the foot injury of Apriyani Rahayu, which has kept her out of tournaments for seven months since the end of the Olympics.

After the 2025 World Championship, which will be represented by Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti/Lanny Tria Mayasari, Eng Hian mentioned plans to reinstate the formation of Apriyani and Fadia.

Apriyani and Fadia began playing together in June 2022 after Greysia Polii (Apriyani's partner) retired. When Apriyani was not competing after the Olympics, Fadia partnered with Lanny and won the Indonesia Masters Super 100 title in 2024 as well as the Thailand Masters Super 300 in February 2025.

After becoming champions in Thailand, Fadia partnered again with Apriyani, who returned to the tournament. They competed in the Orleans Masters and All England in March.

However, since May, Apriyani has taken on a different partner and responsibility when paired with Febi Setianingrum. She must guide Febi, a 21-year-old athlete with limited competition experience in the BWF World Tour events.

Until the Macau Open, from July 29 to August 3, Apriyani/Febi participated in five tournaments. Their best result was reaching the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500.

Another formation, which is scheduled to start competing in the Hong Kong Open in September, includes Febriana/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari, Amalia/Rachel Alessya Rose, and Lanny/Febi. Febriana and Amalia have been separated due to difficulties in competing with the top women's doubles teams from China, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, despite being ranked in the top ten in the world. Additionally, they have been paired together for six years.

"According to the work program of PBSI, this year will be used to find the best format in the doubles category so that they are ready to compete in 2026, and then gather points for Olympic qualification. Therefore, since there is still time left this year, a partner exchange in the doubles sector will be attempted," said Eng Hian.

Meanwhile, from the Macau Open Tournament, Alwi Farhan avenged his defeat to his "younger brother," Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah, which occurred in the final of the Indonesia Masters 2024. The revenge was executed in the second round of the Macau Open at the Macau East Asian Games Dome on Thursday. Alwi won with a score of 19-21, 21-17, 21-17.

Alwi and Zaki are the promising young players expected to continue the achievements of their seniors, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie. This year, they are in the process of gaining competitive experience at a high level and facing more experienced athletes.

The quarterfinal match against Jason Gunawan (Hong Kong) on Friday marked the fourth for Alwi in the BWF World Tour tournament. The 2023 junior world champion reached the semifinals of the 2024 Macau Open, achieving his best result since actively competing in the BWF World Tour series in 2024.

Alwi is the only remaining male singles player from Indonesia at the Macau Open following the defeats of Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo and Yohanes Saut Marcellyno in the second round. Sabar/Reza is also the sole quarterfinalist in the men's doubles category for "Merah Putih" as Yeremia/Rahmat and the national training center's junior players, Muhammad Putra Erwiansyah/Daniel Edgar Marvino, have been eliminated.

In the mixed doubles category, Indonesia is guaranteed to have one semifinalist. In the quarterfinals, the Indonesian players Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Gloria Emanulle Widjaja will compete for a semifinal ticket against Amri Syahnawi/Nita Violina Marwah.

Another pair, Adnan Maulana/Indah Cahya Sari Jamil, also advanced to the quarter-finals. After winning against Phuwanal Horbanluekit/Fungfa Korphammakit with a score of 21-10, 21-8, they will face the top seeds from Malaysia, Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei.