Fajar/Fikri End Indonesia's Title Drought After Winning the China Open

CHANGZHOU, SUNDAY – In a brief collaboration, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri won the prestigious tournament, the China Open. This title could have a positive impact on their journey, particularly for Fajar, who will compete in the Badminton World Championship.

In the only final without Chinese players held at the Changzhou Olympics Sports Centre on Sunday (27/7/2025), Fajar/Fikri defeated the Malaysian pair ranked second in the world, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, with a score of 21-15, 21-14. This marks the first title for Indonesian badminton players at the high-level BWF tournament, Super 1000.

The host athletes won four other events as they last did in 2024. This time, they were more dominant as the competition for the men's and women's singles titles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles took place among fellow Chinese players.

Wang Zhi Yi and Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping defended the women's singles and mixed doubles titles. Shi Yu Qi won the men's singles title, while Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning became the women's doubles champions.

The addition of four championship titles solidifies China's position at the top of the list of countries with the most titles in the BWF World Tour (Super 300, 500, 750, and 1000) in 2025. Out of ten tournaments, China accumulated 23 titles, followed by South Korea (16 titles), Thailand (12), Japan (8), and Malaysia (6).

China also excelled in the competition of the four Super 1000 tournaments that have all taken place this year, namely the Malaysia Open, All England, Indonesia Open, and China Open. Shi Yu Qi and his teammates secured eight titles, surpassing South Korea with six titles, which included three titles from An Se-young and Seo Seung-jae/Kim Won-ho.

Before China opened up, Indonesia only had two championship titles from Super 300, which were won by Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti/Lanny Tria Mayasari at the Thailand Masters and Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu at the Taiwan Open. As for the Super 1000 level, the best results were finals reached by Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana at the All England and Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani at the Indonesia Open.

The lag behind other countries has also become a point of concern for badminton fans in Indonesia. The performance of senior players such as Fajar/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Jonatan Christie, and Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari has declined. On the other hand, young players like Jafar/Felisha, Putri Kusuma Wardani, and Alwi Farhan still need time to mature in order to compete at a higher level.

Indonesia finally secured a title from the Super 1000 tournament when the 2025 competition passed the midpoint of the year through Fajar/Fikri. This marks their second tournament, following the Japan Open the previous week, which is likely to be their last tournament as a pair. After the China Open, they will compete again with their permanent partners.

Fajar/Fikri competed in the Japan Open (losing in the quarter-finals) and the China Open due to their inability to play with their respective partners. Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Fajar's partner) took a break from the tournament to accompany his wife who was giving birth to their first child, while Daniel Marthin (Fikri's partner) was unable to compete due to a left knee injury that required surgery.

Furthermore, Fajar is obligated to appear in Super 1000 and 750 tournaments due to his inclusion in the top committed player list, meaning players ranked in the top ten (doubles) and top 15 (singles) at the end of the previous year. These players are obligated to participate in a certain number of tournaments.

Fajar will return to play alongside Rian with the upcoming challenge of the World Championship in Paris, France, from August 25 to 31. Fikri/Daniel is included in the reserve list for the men's doubles in the championship and may compete if any pair withdraws.

However, the PBSI has not provided an estimate for the continuation of the tournament for Fikri/Daniel because Daniel is still recovering after surgery. Through the Head of Development and Achievement, Eng Hian, after the Indonesia Open in June, PBSI has prepared the option of pairing Fikri with a men's doubles athlete from the national training center during the time he cannot partner with Daniel again.

Although the success of winning the China Open will not continue with pairing in other events, the result has boosted the confidence of Fajar and Fikri, who have not won a major tournament for a long time. The last Super 1000 tournament won by Fajar was the All England 2024.

Fikri, in fact, has gone longer without a championship title at any level. The last title he won was at the All England 2022 (with Bagas Maulana). Since then, he has consistently lost in the subsequent seven finals, both with Bagas and, after changing partners, with Daniel.

Therefore, the championship title at the China Open is very significant for each individual. In addition to breaking Indonesia's drought in major tournaments in 2025, the title serves as a positive moment for Fajar to perform in Paris.

"The World Championship is my main target this year. The title at the China Open, despite having a different partner, has boosted my confidence. There is about a month left before the World Championship, and I hope that Rian and I can prepare ourselves well and achieve good results," said Fajar, who dedicated the China Open title, among others, to Iie Sumirat, a badminton legend from Indonesia who passed away on July 22.

Although aiming to perform well in every match and ultimately achieving it, Fikri did not expect to become the champion. According to him, the key to victory lies in confidence in one's abilities and good communication between him, Fajar, and the coach.

Confidence, communication, and mutual trust with their partners enable them to collaborate even though they share the same role as each other's partners, which is as attackers who often play in the front line. They are able to overcome challenges that are difficult to anticipate from the world's top pairs, namely the fairly strong wind speed.

Before defeating Chia/Soh, Fajar/Fikri eliminated the world number one men's doubles pair, Seo/Kim, in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, it was the turn of the sixth-ranked home favorites, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang, who were defeated.

Fajar/Fikri overcame their opponents and the conditions of the field with their speed in controlling every point contested. Their approach was to dominate the game at the front of the court.

Every time after serving or receiving a serve, they stand at the front or center of the court to quickly intercept the opponent's shots. This makes it difficult for Chia/Soh to develop their game. Meanwhile, Malaysian coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has provided instructions on how to face the game of Fajar and Fikri, his former trainees at the Cipayung national training center.

Similar to the China Open, Indonesia only secured one championship title at the Junior Asian Championships held in the country. In the final that took place at GOR Manahan, Solo, Central Java, only Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah won a title for the host nation. The championship titles in the other four categories were claimed by players aged 19 and under from China.

Zaki won the men's singles title after defeating Yang Ming Yu Liu (China) with a score of 21-12, 21-17. This title compensates for Indonesia's failure to win the junior category at the same event and in the same location the previous week.

Indonesia has another representative in the final, namely Ikhsan Lintang Pramudya/Rinjani Kwinara Nastine. However, the 13th-seeded mixed doubles pair lost to Chen Jun Ting/Zi Han Cao with a score of 12-21, 13-21.

"I am quite happy to be the champion in the individual category even though I was unable to lead the team to victory in the team event. The journey to the final was not easy, nor was the final itself. In the second game, I fell behind 0-5 due to a decrease in focus, but I was ultimately able to overcome it," said Zaki.

The 18-year-old player will take his journey in the Junior Asian Championship to a higher level, namely the BWF World Tour tournament. Zaki and other backup players in the national training center will compete in the Macau Open Super 300, from July 29 to August 3.

Zaki will also represent Indonesia in the Junior World Championship to be held in India from October 13 to 19. At the same event in China a year ago, Zaki led Indonesia to become the world champion in the team category and reached the semifinals in the individual category.