Restore the Prestige of the Indonesia Open Through a New Organizer

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Central Board of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PP PBSI) has partnered with PT Perada Swara Productions to organize national and international badminton championships in 2026. The Djarum Foundation will also provide support to ensure that various championships can be held professionally and with high quality.

One of the tournaments that will be managed by PT Perada Swara Productions is the Indonesia Open, which is the largest badminton tournament in Indonesia. Since 2018, when the BWF adopted the BWF World Tour structure, the Indonesia Open has become one of only four tournaments at the Super 1000 level. The other three tournaments that are only one level below the highest category, the BWF Finals, are the Malaysia Open, All England, and China Open.

Under Super 1000, BWF categorizes tournaments into Super 750, Super 500, and Super 300. Below that, there are Super 100, International Challenge, and International Series. All these categories are established based on the prize money and ranking points contested. The higher the level, the greater the prize money and ranking points.

As one of the major countries in the world of badminton, Indonesia also hosts events at other levels, namely the Indonesia Masters Super 500, Indonesia Masters Super 100, and the International Challenge. Not only international tournaments, but collaboration with PT Perada Swara Productions is also carried out to organize the National Championship and the National Circuit. There are also plans to hold the Junior World Championship.

Indonesia Open once held the title of the BWF tournament with the largest prize money, although in 2025 its total prize will be the same as that of the Malaysia Open and All England, which is 1,450,000 US dollars or approximately 24 billion IDR. This year, the China Open offers the largest prize, amounting to 2,000,000 US dollars (33.1 billion IDR).

In 2012, the Indonesia Open even received an award from the BWF for the best tournament, combining sports and entertainment. Every corner of the Istora, Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, was filled with stalls selling food, souvenirs, and entertainment, both from sponsors and MSMEs.

In recent years, the number of stands has dwindled, leaving empty spaces. Many spectators have complained about the high prices of food and drinks sold inside the Istora area. Coupled with the declining performance of Indonesian athletes, spectator enthusiasm for the Istora has also waned.

Foreign athletes accustomed to the hustle and bustle of Istora were even surprised when the 2024 Indonesia Open had a sparse audience. One athlete who expressed his astonishment was Anders Antonsen.

Based on its reputation as the best tournament ever achieved, the Indonesia Open, PP PBSI, PT Perada Swara Productions, and the Djarum Foundation are determined to hold the championship with the highest quality.

"We will try to restore Indonesia Open as the best tournament," said Program Director of Bakti Olahraga Djarum Foundation Yoppy Rosimin in Jakarta, Thursday (9/10/2025).

To realize this, Yoppy stated that there is already a team monitoring the organization of tournaments in other countries, one of which is the China Masters, held from September 16 to 21 in Shenzhen. However, Yoppy has not disclosed the concept that will be adopted for hosting international tournaments in 2026, particularly for the Indonesia Open.

The General Manager of PT Perada Swara Productions, Gege Dhirgantara, stated that his team will deploy the best personnel and will work to the fullest to organize various championships.

"We are proud to have the trust of PBSI and will strive to organize the championship professionally, well, and with very high quality to provide a memorable experience for the audience," said Gege, who also mentioned that his team has experience working with Djarum.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of PP PBSI, Ricky Soebagdja, hopes that Indonesia will not only succeed in organizing quality tournaments. "I hope the achievements of the athletes will also be good," said the former men's doubles athlete.

The Indonesia Open, held since 1982, has seen local athletes fail to win the title in the last four editions. The last home athletes to contribute a title were Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon in 2021.

In 2025, only Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani represented Indonesia in the finals, but they lost to Seo Seung-jae/Kim Won-ho (South Korea).