Indonesia Stumbles in Quarter Finals of Asian Badminton Championships

NINGBO, FRIDAY — The appearance of seven representatives in the quarterfinals of the Asian Badminton Championship, including three men's doubles pairs, brought good news for the Indonesian team. However, the situation changed after the matches, with only two representatives securing victories.

Of the seven representatives competing at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center, Ningbo, China, on Friday (11/4/2025), only Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu and Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana emerged victorious. The rest of the Indonesian players were defeated by players from China, Japan, and Malaysia.

A total of seven representatives — the same as Japan — constitute the second-largest number after China, which has 14 quarterfinalists. The dominance of the host squad continues with 11 representatives advancing to the semifinals, which will take place on Saturday.

After Jafar/Felisha eliminated the world's third-ranked mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie (Malaysia), with scores of 21-15, 21-11 in the quarterfinals of Session I, "Merah Putih" placed their hopes on four representatives competing in Session II. Three of these four representatives are men's doubles players.

Leo/Bagas started the performance of the Indonesian squad well after defeating Liu Kuang Heng/Yang Po Han (Taiwan) 21-16, 21-17. Like Jafar/Felisha, Leo/Bagas are guaranteed a bronze medal by advancing to the semifinals.

After defeating Liu/Yang, Leo expressed his hope that his teammates would also advance to the semifinals. If this hope is realized, Indonesia's men's doubles team is guaranteed to have at least one representative in the final, as Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Daniel Marthin and Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto are in the same draw section, namely the lower half. Meanwhile, Leo/Bagas will face Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi (China), who eliminated the top seeds, Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izuddin (Malaysia).

Leo's statement ultimately turned out to be merely a hope, as he and Bagas ended up being the only remaining Indonesian men's doubles pair. Fikri/Daniel failed to repeat their victory over the host nation's favorites, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang, in front of their home crowd, as they had done in the second round of the 2024 China Open. This time, Fikri/Daniel lost 19-21, 19-21.

"The opponent played very well. Actually, we could have matched and were ahead, but there were small mistakes that made the result of the match different. We have to be more consistent. Don't win today, lose tomorrow," said Daniel.

Fikri/Daniel's defeat eliminated the chance of an all-Indonesian men's doubles semifinal, although there was still hope of adding a semifinalist from Fajar/Rian who appeared in the last match on Court II. However, Fajar/Rian were also eliminated when they played against Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik. After losing the first game, Fajar/Rian were completely unable to keep up with Chia/Soh's game and eventually lost 16-21, 11-21.

The match was the first meeting between the Indonesian men's doubles and Malaysian players coached by Herry Iman Pierngadi. The former men's and mixed doubles coach of the Indonesian national badminton training center has been coaching the Malaysian national team since February 2025 and the Asian Championships were Herry's first moment of duty in the tournament.

"It was a bit strange to see Koh Herry on the other side because we have spent many years with him as a coach. But, we tried to play professionally," Fajar commented.

Rian assessed that there was certainly an advantage when the Malaysian men's doubles met Indonesia with Herry. "However, it depends on how we anticipate Malaysia's game on the field. In the match earlier, we made many mistakes and the results were beyond expectations," he said.

Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu – Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie (Malaysia/3) 21-15, 21-11

Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari – Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin (China/1) 4-21, 15-21

Jonathan Christie (2) – Lu Guang Zu (China) 13-21, 13-21

Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi – Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida (Japan/3) 16-21, 16-21

Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana – Liu Kuang Heng/Yang Po Han (Taiwan) 21-16, 21-17

Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Daniel Marthin – Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (China/2) 19-21, 19-21

Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto (3) – Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (Malaysia/6) 16-21, 11-21