Rian/Rahmat's Surprise Debut

ODENSE, WEDNESDAY – Muhammad Rian Ardianto/Rahmat Hidayat began their partnership in the 2025 Denmark Open badminton tournament with a surprise in the first round. In contrast, their teammates, Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana were eliminated.

The surprise was created by Rian/Rahmat when facing the second-seeded men's doubles, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (Malaysia), at the JYSKE Bank Arena, Odense, Denmark, Wednesday (15/10/2025). They defeated the bronze medalists of the Paris 2024 Olympics with a score of 21-17, 21-13.

Starting the Super 750 level BWF World Tour tournament on the same day were Rian/Rahmat's training partners at the Cipayung national training center in Jakarta, Leo/Bagas. However, they had a different outcome as they were eliminated by the Japanese pair, Takumi Nomura/Yuichi Shimogami, with scores of 19-21, 13-21.

The day before, two Indonesian men's doubles competed first in the first round and won. They are Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani. Like Fajar/Fikri, Rian/Rahmat is a new formation in the main national training squad. The Denmark Open even marks their first tournament.

The two pairs were formed suddenly due to circumstances off the court. Fajar/Fikri teamed up first at the Japan Open Super 750 tournament, held from July 15 to 20, and the China Open Super 1000, a week later. They partnered when Fajar's original partner, Rian, took leave from the tournament to await the birth of his son. On the other hand, Fikri had no partner because Daniel Marthin suffered a leg injury since the Sudirman Cup championship in May.

The target for the pair is temporary, as Fajar must fulfill his obligations to participate in the Super 750 and 1000 tournaments, which will continue. The results of the quarter-finals at the Japan Open and the championship at the China Open have led coach Antonius Budi Ariantho to keep pairing Fajar/Fikri, at least until the end of 2025.

The duet resulted in the formation of another pair, one of which is Rian/Rahmat. Previously, Rian was paired with Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan, who usually plays alongside Rahmat. Rian/Yeremia competed in the China Masters and the Korea Open in September, with results that consistently saw them eliminated in the first round.

Meanwhile, Rahmat/Yeremia have partnered since 2024, but are struggling to break into the top-level competition. The championship title was only achieved at a lower level, namely the Indonesia Masters Super 100 in 2024.

Utilizing the remaining season of the 2025 competition, the men's doubles sector is also seeking the best formation to face the upcoming years, especially in preparation for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification, which will begin in 2027. A similar approach is being taken in the women's doubles sector as well.

"We played with nothing to lose, and because we were a new partner, it seemed like our opponents didn't know our playing style yet. We were able to play comfortably and minimize our mistakes," said Rian, who also praised the performance of Rahmat, a 22-year-old player seven years his junior.

Rahmat expressed his gratitude to his seniors who always provide feedback. "There was a gap of a few months before coming here for me. I tried to develop myself through training, improving my shortcomings," said Rahmat, who last competed alongside Yeremia at the Macau Open from July 29 to August 3.

Rahmat, who excelled during his junior era alongside Rayhan Fadillah, also expressed that there is a sense of nervousness when partnering with a senior. Moreover, he is immediately facing top players in a high-level tournament. "However, I have to confront it," he said.

Despite making a surprise in their debut, Rian/Rahmat must prove the consistency of their performance, one of which will be against Nomura/Shimogami in the second round. This Japanese pair defeated Leo/Bagas through their speed and cleverness in controlling the front court area. In this way, they were able to continuously pressure Leo/Bagas.

That consistency is what Fajar/Fikri continue to strive for, even though the results they have achieved are considered good. In September, they reached the semifinals of the China Masters and the finals of the Korea Open, adding to their results in Japan and the China Open.

When Fajar/Fikri offered hope in the early days of their partnership, Leo/Bagas did the opposite. As the longest-standing pair among the three men's doubles teams in the national training center at the Denmark Open, having partnered since August 2024, the performance of Leo/Bagas has declined.

We played with nothing to lose, and because we were a new partner, it seemed like our opponents didn't know our playing style yet. - M Rian Ardianto -

Out of 14 tournaments in 2025, they only managed to advance past the second round four times. However, Leo/Bagas demonstrated the potential to become part of the world's top men's doubles when they reached the final of the All England in March. This result placed them in ninth place in the world rankings, but they are currently in the 15th position.

The defeat in the early phase of the tournament was also experienced by Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu. They were eliminated by the world number one mixed doubles pair, Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin (China), in the first round with a score of 16-21, 7-21.

"We did not perform well today, failing to show a good resistance. In the second game, we were truly under pressure. We tried many ways, but we could not escape the pressure and made many mistakes," said Felisha.

The results in Denmark marked defeats for Jafar/Felisha in the first two rounds of their last four tournaments. During the tour in Asia in September, they were eliminated in the second round at the Hong Kong Open, China Masters, and Korea Open.

Except in the Open Korea, their other losses, as well as the majority of their defeats this year, have come from top pairs ranked in the world's top ten. Jafar/Felisha have previously put up a strong fight and possess that potential.

However, as a young couple, they have not yet been able to match the capabilities of Jiang/Wei and their peers in facing pressure. They need to learn this, especially since 2025 will be the first year for Jafar/Felisha to compete fully in the BWF World Tour tournaments.

The mixed doubles pair that also lost in the first round was Amri Syahnawi/Nita Violina Marwah. Meanwhile, Adnan Maulana/Indah Cahya Sari Jamil won against Mohit Jaglan/Lakshita Jaglan with a score of 21-14, 21-11 and will face Lee Jong-min/Chae Yu-jung in the second round.

At the Junior World Championship in Guwahati, India, the two top-seeded men's singles players from Indonesia, Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah and Richie Duta Ricardo, advanced to the fourth round. Zaki, the top seed, won against Masato Yamashiro 15-12, 15-10 in the third round on Wednesday, while Richie (2) defeated Frederik Hinding 15-5, 15-10.

They became the mainstay of the "Merah Putih" squad to stand on the highest podium after Zaki reached the semifinals at the same event in Nanchang, China, in 2024. Meanwhile, Richie made it to the quarterfinals at that time.

"I have the motivation to achieve better results compared to last year. Therefore, I want to make the best use of this opportunity," said Richie.

Richie and Zaki became eight representatives of Indonesia who advanced to the fourth round as of Wednesday night. From five events, Indonesia no longer has any representatives in the women's singles sector.