Only Two Rounds for Indonesia's New Women's Doubles

HONG KONG, THURSDAY – Following the 2025 World Championship in France, the end of 2025 marks a new phase for Indonesian women's doubles badminton players who are competing with different partners. Their journey begins at the Hong Kong Open, but none were able to advance past the second round.

In the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament held at the Hong Kong Coliseum from September 9 to 14, Indonesia was represented by four women's doubles pairs. Three pairs were eliminated in the second round that took place on Thursday (September 11, 2025), while one other lost in the first round in a match against fellow Indonesian players.

The pairs that were defeated in the second round are Lanny Tria Mayasari/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi, Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, and Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari. They gained valuable lessons when facing top-seeded players, both those who have been partnered for a long time and new pairs who are already experienced as top world doubles players.

Febriana/Meilysa lost to the second seed, who is also the world’s second-ranked women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan, with a score of 18-21, 17-21. Although they had a lead of 16-10 in the first game, Febriana/Meilysa lost that game and subsequently lost the match.

From the Malaysian players, who are the defending champions of the Hong Kong Open, Febriana/Meilysa learned the importance of quickly adapting when opponents change their playing patterns. Tan/Muralitharan, who were finalists at the World Championship in France from August 25 to 31, also demonstrated how to play consistently once the right pattern is established and to avoid making many mistakes.

"Earlier, we were actually comfortable with our playing pattern. When they accelerated the tempo, we became caught up in the opponent's game," said Febriana, who had previously partnered with Amalia.

Like her former partner, Amalia only lasted two sets. She and Lanny stated that their rotation to cover the court became the biggest obstacle when facing the fourth-seeded Japanese pair, Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi, resulting in a loss of 12-21, 14-21. In fact, the rotation of women's doubles athletes is more dynamic compared to other doubles sectors, especially mixed doubles.

In mixed doubles, the game strategist (female player) is more often positioned at the front, while the player responsible for attacking (male player) is at the back of the court. This is different from female doubles players, whose roles are more flexible.

"Perhaps, because it is still new, our rotation is still disorganized. The ball that I should have taken, but due to hesitation, it was Kak Amalia who tried to take it, but it ended up being out of reach," said Lanny.

Before pairing with Amalia, Lanny played alongside Fadia in most tournaments since August 2024, following the Paris Olympics. The Fadia/Lanny duo became one of the contributors to the championship titles in the BWF World Tour, securing four titles for Indonesia in 2025, including the Thailand Masters Super 300 in January.

However, when the women's doubles rotation was carried out, coach Karel Mainaky reinstated Fadia with her previous partner, Apriyani Rahayu. Karel still sees potential in the Apriyani/Fadia duo, which also lost in the second round. They were eliminated by Arisa Igarashi/Chiharu Shida with scores of 16-21, 19-21.

Previously, Igarashi (formerly known as Arisa Higashino) played in the mixed doubles category alongside Yuta Watanabe. Meanwhile, Shida partnered with Nami Matsuyama. They became one of the best women's doubles teams in the world. However, Matsuyama/Shida parted ways, also taking advantage of the momentum following the World Championship.

In addition to the three pairs that competed in the second round, the new formation of the Indonesian women's doubles is Rachel Alessya Rose/Febi Setianingrum. They were eliminated early in their encounter with Apriyani/Fadia in the first round.

The double rotation for the women's team is being utilized to make the most of the remaining time in 2025 to find partners who are ready to compete at the top level starting in 2026. The year 2026 will serve as a "warm-up" for the permanent pairs to face the qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, which will take place a year after in 2027.

After being eliminated at the Hong Kong Open, Lanny/Amalia, Rachel/Febi, and Febriana/Meilysa will continue their appearances at a higher-level tournament, the China Masters Super 750 in Shenzhen, from September 16 to 21. Meanwhile, Apriyani/Fadia are scheduled to compete in the Korea Open Super 500, from September 23 to 28, starting from the qualifying round.

Two representatives from Indonesia in other events were also eliminated in the second round, one of whom was Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana, who lost to Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang with scores of 12-21, 20-22. With this result, out of the six championships participated in since June, Leo/Bagas have consistently been eliminated in the first two rounds, except when they reached the third round of the World Championship.

The mixed doubles team, Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu, also lost in the second round. They were eliminated by the second seeds, Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping, with scores of 17-21, 17-21.

Thus, Indonesia will have three representatives competing in the quarter-finals on Friday, namely Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, Adnan Maulana/Indah Cahya Sari Jamil, and Alwi Farhan.

Sabar/Reza, who won in a tight match against Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi, 20-22, 21-18, 21-17, will face Lee Fang Chih/Lee Fang Jen. Meanwhile, Adnan/Indah will challenge the home favorites, Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Tsuet, after eliminating the fourth seeds, Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran, 21-17, 18-21, 21-13.

"The opponent played well. When we had a significant lead in the second game, we should have been more focused and confident. Therefore, we need to be able to focus more and avoid making too many mistakes," said Adnan.

In the men's singles, Alwi also defeated the seeded player, Weng Hong Yang (7), with scores of 22-20, 12-21, 21-11. In the quarter-finals, another seed awaits, namely Chou Tien Chen (3).