Alwi and Sabar/Reza Win Two Trophies at the Macau Open in a Rare Opportunity

MACAU, SATURDAY — A rare opportunity in 2025 to achieve two championship titles from a single tournament was obtained by Indonesia at the Macau Open badminton tournament. This opportunity was secured through Alwi Farhan and the pair of Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.

Indonesia actually had four representatives competing in the semifinals at the Macau East Asian Games Dome on Saturday (2/8/2025). However, only two were able to advance to the final match of the BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament.

Alwi defeated the 2021 World Championship semifinalist, Lakhsya Sen (India), who was the second seed of the tournament, with a score of 21-16, 21-9. The second semifinal ticket was secured by Sabar/Reza, who triumphed over the Taiwanese pair that had previously defeated them in two encounters, Lee Fang Chih/Lee Fang Jen, with a score of 21-19, 21-17.

Meilysa Trias Puspitasari/Rachel Alessya Rose, the first representatives of Indonesia to reach the semifinals, had the opportunity to advance to their second final in the BWF World Tour after winning the Orleans Masters Super 300 in 2024. They led 16-14 against Hsieh Pei Hsan/Hung En Tzu (Taiwan) in the third game but failed to maintain that lead, ultimately losing 19-21, 21-18, 17-21.

One of the women's doubles from the main training center lost the first game in a moment similar to that of the deciding game. Meilysa/Rachel were leading, in fact, by a margin of six points (14-8), but lost the game.

In the mixed doubles category, Amri Syahnawi/Nita Violina Marwah were eliminated by the duo of young and senior players from Malaysia, Jimmy Wong/Lai Pei Jing. Amri/Nita, who were the sixth seeds, lost with a score of 18-21, 16-21.

Although only two representatives advanced to the finals at the lowest level of the BWF World Tour tournament structure, this marks a rare moment for Indonesian badminton in 2025. Out of the 17 Super 300 – Super 1000 tournaments that have been held, this opportunity was only achieved at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 and the Thailand Masters Super 300 in January, and even then, the results were not particularly favorable.

Two finalists of the Indonesia Masters, Jonatan Christie and Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, lost. At the Thailand Masters, only one championship title was secured (by Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti/Lanny Tria Mayasari) from four finals.

Another tournament that featured two representatives from Indonesia in the final was the Taiwan Open Super 300. Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu emerged as champions after defeating fellow Indonesian players, Dejan Ferdinansyah/Fadia.

Indonesia finally added another title at a higher level, namely the China Open Super 1000, through Fajar/Mohammad Shohibul Fikri.

From Indonesia's limited achievements on the world stage in 2025, one positive factor that has emerged is the development of young players' performance. After Jafar/Felisha, who are 22 and 19 years old, Alwi has reached his first final in the BWF World Tour. In the final, the 20-year-old athlete will face Malaysian player, Justin Hoh.

Alwi, who has been competing with Hoh since their junior years, triumphed 3-2 over the 21-year-old opponent. One of the victories was achieved at the 2024 Macau Open, specifically in the second round.

"I am happy to reach the Super 300 final for the first time. I was able to play well today, apply my strategy effectively, and manage my emotions properly. I hope to perform even better tomorrow," commented Alwi, who lost in the semifinals of the 2024 Macau Open.

The only son ranked 25th in the world stated that his performance at a higher level in the two weeks prior, the Japan Open Super 750 and the China Open, provided lessons for playing in Macau. Although he lost in the second round in Japan and the first round in China, Alwi gained experience playing under greater pressure when facing elite players. One such opportunity arose when he played in a team of three against the world number one men's singles player, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, at the China Open.

When Alwi took a step further compared to the 2024 Macau Open, Sabar/Reza moved one step better than their result from a year ago. At that time, they lost to Chen Xu Jun/Liu Yi (China) 18-21, 14-21 in the final.

The final against Junaidi Arif/Roy King Yap marked the second final for Sabar/Reza this year after the Indonesia Open Super 1000. Sabar/Reza holds a 3-1 advantage over the Malaysian pair, although they have not faced each other for 17 months.

The final of five events at the Macau Open, the last BWF World Tour tournament before the World Championships in France from August 25 to 31, involved players from six countries. In addition to Sabar/Reza, the top seed advancing to the final is Chen Yu Fei. The Chinese women's singles player will face Line Christophersen from Denmark.