Meeting South Korea, Every Point Counts for Indonesia

SURAKARTA, SUNDAY – Competing using a relay point system, each team has an equal chance of winning the Asian Junior Badminton Team Championships. Every point is crucial for the athletes, their teammates, and the team.

This was emphasized by the Chairman of the Development and Achievement Division of PP PBSI Eng Hian ahead of Indonesia's meeting with South Korea in the quarter-finals, which will take place at GOR Manahan, Solo, Central Java, on Monday (21/7/2025). The match between Indonesia and South Korea is one of the quarter-finals in the championship for athletes aged 18 and under, based on the draw held on Sunday.

The quarter-finalists are the eight teams that ranked in the top two of four groups during the qualifying phase held from July 18 to 20. Indonesia emerged as the champion of Group B, followed by Malaysia in second place. In the group championship determination on Sunday, Indonesia defeated Malaysia with a score of 110-92.

If victorious against South Korea, which defeated Indonesia in the semifinals of 2024, the "Red and White" team will face Thailand or Hong Kong. The other quarterfinals will see Malaysia compete against China, as well as Japan against India.

"Indonesia and Korea are quite evenly matched. As I always tell the athletes, they must give their best. They also must not let their guard down, because in relay points, a one or two point advantage can be very meaningful for their teammates in the next match," said Eng Hian.

For the first time since its inception in 2006, the Asian Junior Mixed Team Championships used the relay point system, as implemented at the 2024 world championships in Nanchang, China. Indonesia won the championship after defeating China in the final.

This system consists of five numbers that are played in two rounds in each match from the group stage to the final. Thus, the encounter between two teams consists of ten matches.

Each party ends when one of the players scores multiples of 11, namely 11, 22, 33, and so on, until one team reaches 110 points. With this format, each player relies on their teammates.

This system is similar to the relay number used in running and swimming competitions. The winner is the team that excels based on the total fastest time.

We tried to play calmly and focused to get back in front and finally we did that.

An athlete who excels over an opponent does not necessarily lead their team to victory, and vice versa. One moment that illustrates this occurred when Indonesia faced Malaysia.

The Indonesian mixed doubles team, Theodorus Steve Kurniawan/Luna Rianty Saffana, actually lost 11-14 against Loh Ziheng/Noraqilah Maisarah. However, they put Indonesia ahead 44-43 in the fourth match by scoring multiples of 11 first.

This factor is inseparable from Indonesia's accumulated advantages, 33-29, from the three previous matches through Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah (men's singles), Rinjani Kwinara Nastine/Riska Anggraini (women's doubles), and Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan (women's singles).

Indonesian men's doubles pair Ikhsan Lintang Pramudya and Devin Artha Wahyudi said playing with the relay point system made them nervous. Furthermore, when Ikhsan and Devin played their fifth match, Indonesia only led 44-43 from the previous four matches.

"We tried to play calmly and focus to regain the lead, and ultimately we were able to do that. When playing in the second round (the tenth match), we were more optimistic because the team had a significant lead," said Ikhsan.

Devin stated that if they were to be eliminated in the quarter-finals, he and his partner would need to adapt more quickly to the atmosphere from the very first point, especially if they were trusted to play in two events, as was the case against Malaysia. In addition to partnering with Ikhsan, Devin also competes in mixed doubles with Rinjani. Devin must quickly adapt to the different playing patterns when competing in both mixed doubles and men's doubles in two consecutive matches, in the ninth and tenth matches.

The women's singles player Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan is also determined to play better and without pressure if entrusted to compete in the quarter-finals. The ninth-ranked junior women's singles player in the world stated that she still felt tense during her first-round match against Malaysia. "In the second match, I was able to enjoy the game," she said.

Thalita became one of the members of the Indonesian team that ranked in the top ten in the world. In addition, there is Zaki, who is the number one men's singles player in the world, and Rinjani (ninth in women's doubles), two players who represented Indonesia when they became the 2024 junior world team champions.

This is different from South Korea, which Indonesia will face starting at 09:00 WIB. None of their squad members are ranked in the top ten. Nevertheless, as Eng Hian stated, Zaki and his teammates must not be complacent, even if they are in the lead.

From the final of the Japan Open BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament, the victory over Wang Zhi Yi with a score of 21-12, 21-10 marked the sixth championship title for An Se-young in 2025. The South Korean women's singles player has accumulated this championship title from seven tournaments, including three Super 1000 tournaments: the Malaysia Open, All England, and Indonesia Open.

The only tournament that was not won was the Singapore Open, where the world’s top-ranked women's singles player lost to Chen Yu Fei in the quarter-finals. The Chinese player became the only competitor to defeat An this year out of 38 matches.

"After Indonesia opened up, I worked hard to improve all the shortcomings. I imagined what kind of performance could yield better results, including for today's final. I am pleased to finally achieve a good result thanks to the evolving game," said An on the official BWF website.

In addition to An, South Korea secured the championship title at the Japan Open in men's doubles, with Seo Seung-jae/Ki Won-ho. They defeated the world number one pair from Malaysia, Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izuddin, with scores of 21-16, 21-17.

Meanwhile, players from China won three other events. They are Shi Yu Qi (men's singles) as well as the defending champions Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning (women's doubles) and Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin (mixed doubles).

The best result for Indonesia was the quarter-finals achieved by Putri Kusuma Wardani, Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti/Lanny Tria Mayasari, and Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.

Their competition in the BWF World Tour tournament will continue to the fourth Super 1000 level this year, namely the China Open in Changzhou, July 22-27. Indonesia has 13 representatives in five events who will also compete in the Japan Open.

Indonesia vs Malaysia Results

1.     Men's singles: Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah – Kong Wei Xiang 11-5

2. Women's doubles: Rinjani Kwinara Nastine/Riska Anggraini – Low Zi Yu/Dania Sofea 20-22 (Rinjani/Riska lost 9-17)

3.     Women's singles: Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan – Oo Shan Zi 33-29 (Thalita won 13-7)

4.     Mixed doubles: Theodorus Steve Kurniawan/Luna Rianty Saffana – Loh Ziheng/Noraqilah Maisarah 44-43 (Theodorus/Luna lost 11-14)

5.     Men's doubles: Ikhsan Lintang Pramudya/Devin Artha Wahyudi – Loh/Tan Zhi Yang 55-52 (Ikhsan/Devin won 11-9)

6.     Zaki – Lim Boon Le 66-60 (Zaki won 11-8)

7.     Rinjani/Riska – Low/Sofea 77-67 (Rinjani/Riska won 11-7)

8.     Thalita – Eng Ler Qi 88-73 (Thalita won 11-6)

9. Devin/Rinjani – Datu Anif Isaac//Sofea 99-81 (Devin/Rinjani won 11-8)

10.  Ikhsan/Devin – Irfan M Shazmir/Ahmad Redzuan 110-92 (score of both pairs tied 11-11)