Indonesia Immediately Trains at the Sudirman Cup Arena

XIAMEN, FRIDAY – Less than 24 hours after arriving in Xiamen, China, the Indonesian badminton team tested the venue for the Sudirman Cup championship. The main agenda of this first training session was to adapt to the conditions of the court.

Jonatan Christie and his teammates were given two hours to practice at the Fenghuang Gymnasium, which is part of the Xiamen Olympic Sports Center, on Friday (25/4/2025) afternoon. They arrived in Xiamen, the seventh city in China to host the Sudirman Cup, on Thursday evening.

The Sudirman Cup 2025 will take place from April 27 to May 4. This mixed team championship will be the 19th edition since it was first held in Jakarta in 1989.

Indonesia will compete with 15 other teams for the trophy named after the Indonesian badminton figure, Dick Sudirman. All teams have arrived in Xiamen, including Denmark, which is also training at the Fenghuang Gymnasium on Friday.

Denmark is one of the teams in the same group as Indonesia, namely in Group D, besides India and England. In total, 16 teams are participants in the Sudirman Cup who will start competing in the preliminary phase in four groups. They compete in a round robin format to compete for the top two positions in each group to get a place in the quarter-finals.

Indonesia is reinforced by 19 out of the 20 registered athletes. Men's doubles player, Leo Rolly Carnando, had to withdraw due to a left knee injury. Women's singles player, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, also could not strengthen the "Merah Putih" team due to illness, and her position was taken over by Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo.

The time allocated by the organizing committee of the championship was utilized by Indonesian athletes to acclimatize to various conditions in the stadium and to test the shuttlecocks that would be used in the competition. They had to adapt to the lighting from the lamps, the gusts and direction of the wind on each court, as well as other atmospheric factors.

Mixed doubles player, Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, stated that she must acclimatize to the gusts of wind felt due to the size of the stadium. The arena, built to the standards of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), has a seating capacity of 18,000.

"There is a slight breeze. It depends on how we utilize it while playing on the field, whether we win or lose with the wind," said Gloria, who also represented Indonesia in the Sudirman Cup in 2017, 2019, and 2023.

Ester also tried to study the wind direction while practicing on the field. She felt a significant difference when positioned on different sides of the field. There was a side of the field where the wind blew from behind (downwind conditions) for the 20-year-old player. Meanwhile, when standing on the opposite side of the field, the wind direction came from the front of Ester (upwind).

"It feels like a win and a loss in the air. Therefore, we must quickly master the situation during the match later. Hopefully, by tomorrow, I will be more familiar with the conditions," said Ester, who is a key player in women's singles alongside Putri Kusuma Wardani.

Ester became one of the debutants at the Sudirman Cup. Before Gregoria fell ill, her name was not registered as she would focus on the Taiwan Open Super 300 tournament, held from May 6 to 11. During the team's preparation period, women's singles coach Imam Tohari stated that only two athletes were registered for women's singles because other sectors required more athletes.

“Actually, two athletes would be enough if nothing happens,” he said, referring to Gregoria who is sick.

Indicated to be experiencing vertigo by the doctor, Gregoria did not play during the PP PBSI simulation among the Sudirman Cup athletes at the national training center in Cipayung, Jakarta, on April 21. The women's singles match that was supposed to take place between Gregoria and Putri was changed to Putri facing Ester.

"I indeed had to suddenly replace Kak Gregoria, but my preparations were already in place as I will be departing for Taiwan soon. What I need to change is my mindset because the Sudirman Cup is a team championship. I carry the team's name when I am fielded. Therefore, I want to respond to the trust placed in me well," said Ester, who helped lead Indonesia to the final of the Uber Cup 2024 in Chengdu, China.

Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto has also, for the first time, become a member of the Indonesian Sudirman Cup team. This opportunity arose after Rehan was not selected as a national training center athlete in 2025.

However, in order to focus on his performance, Rehan does not want to think too much about his status as a debutant. His determination is to contribute points if given the opportunity to play. Moreover, he is accompanied by Gloria, who has experience competing in the Sudirman Cup.

Indonesia will play its first match against England on Sunday, starting at 16:00 WIB. Two days later, the second match will be held against India, followed by a confrontation with Denmark on Thursday.