Sabar/Reza's Ups and Downs on the Road to the World Championships

Entering their fifth year as a pair at an age that is no longer young for badminton players, Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani finally received the opportunity to compete in the Badminton World Championship. The men's doubles team, ranked eighth in the world, will be one of 12 representatives from Indonesia participating in Paris, France, from August 25 to 31.

In the men's doubles, Sabar (29 years old) and Reza (27) are the mainstay of "Merah Putih" alongside Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana. They are part of the players who received a bye in the first round due to their seeded status. Sabar/Reza are seeded eighth, Fajar/Rian fourth, and Leo/Bagas eighth.

Unlike Fajar/Rian, who have appeared four times at the World Championships, and Leo and Bagas, who have previously qualified with their former partners (Leo with Daniel Marthin and Bagas with Muhammad Shohibul Fikri), Sabar/Reza have received an invitation from the BWF for the first time.

The World Championship is an event that can only be participated in by athletes who meet the ranking criteria set by BWF. For the 2025 World Championship, BWF uses the ranking list as of April 29 to determine the quota for each country and the athletes who qualify. Indonesia is allocated three representatives, namely one for men's singles and men's doubles, as well as two representatives for women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.

"We are certainly very happy to receive an invitation from BWF because participating in the World Championship is one of our dreams. We hope to perform well there," said Sabar after training at Daddies Arena, South Tangerang, Banten, Friday (15/8/2025).

On that day, Sabar/Reza trained in a different atmosphere compared to the program they underwent the day before, although it took place in the same location. For about two hours starting from 09:00, Sabar/Reza, accompanied by their coaches, Hendra Setiawan and Yansen Alpine, trained alongside athletes from the badminton national training center in Cipayung, Jakarta.

"I invited them because they've never been here before. They could also be sparring partners for Sabar/Reza," Hendra said.

A week before departing for Paris, Sabar/Reza trained together with Fajar, Rian, Leo, Bagas, Fikri, Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan, and the players from the primary national training center. Also participating in that day's practice was Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, who often serves as a sparring partner for the athletes in the national training center.

Marcus is no less enthusiastic than those who are still actively participating in international tours. Playing in practice is no different from competing in a tournament when paired with Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. Moreover, Marcus indeed has an expressive character, often shouting when executing smashes or when making mistakes.

Of the eight courts at the facility owned by Hendra and Mohammad Ahsan, Fajar and his colleagues used three courts, adjacent to the public who rented courts to play badminton. Thus, occasionally, the athletes and former athletes were asked to take photos together with other visitors.

For two hours, Sabar, Reza, and all the athletes engaged in practice matches against different pairs. Sabar, who partnered with Marcus, played against Fajar/Rahmat Hidayat. When they moved to another court, their opponents were also different.

In the middle to the end of the training session, Hendra and Ahsan also became sparring partners for their "younger siblings." Hendra/Ahsan, the world champions of 2013, 2015, and 2019, teamed up with the junior athlete, Muhammad Putra Erwiansyah, on one side of the court. They faced Fajar/Rahmat and then engaged in a fast-paced game against Sabar/Marcus.

In an atmosphere of "reunion" among athletes, former athletes, and Sabar/Reza who trained outside the national training center, the practice proceeded seriously with occasional light-hearted banter. Hendra received applause from his juniors when his smash could not be returned by the opponent.

Fajar's joke was heard as Hendra/Ahsan/Putra played against Sabar/Marcus. "Wow, they're serious opponents!"

Then, as had become customary, after each match against a partner, they thanked each other.

"It's really fun to train with them. It makes training more exciting," commented Sabar.

The atmosphere from morning to afternoon was a moment typically experienced by athletes in the national training center in Cipayung, but not for Sabar/Reza. As non-national training center athletes, one of their significant challenges is finding training partners with comparable skills. This was already anticipated by Sabar/Reza when they decided to leave the national training center in 2021.

Like other badminton athletes who choose to be independent (and there are few in Indonesia), they must prepare all their own needs, not only for participating in competitions but also for training.

"Perhaps not many people know that we have to prepare a lot for training, not just for matches. We have to find a training ground, prepare the shuttlecock, find a sparring partner, and so on. When we don't have a sparring partner, we just train as a threesome with Koh Hendra," Reza said.

This condition was experienced a day before they welcomed the national training squad. Sabar, Reza, and Hendra could only perform stroke training, which is an exercise to refine each type of shot repeatedly.

On other days, even though the program has been prepared, it can sometimes be changed suddenly. "Sometimes we want to practice drilling, but it turns out there's no sparring partner, so the program is changed again," said Hendra, who has been in charge of developing the training program as Sabar/Reza's coach since this year.

Training matches are often conducted under less than ideal conditions. As athletes competing at the BWF World Tour level, they engage in training matches with junior athletes at the Gideon Badminton Academy owned by Marcus in Bogor Regency, West Java. Then, when the athletes at the academy have a competition schedule in the national championship, Sabar/Reza return to the training program together with Hendra.

Given the circumstances, coaches and athletes must think creatively to achieve training targets. For instance, to hone speed in movement, training is conducted with programs such as one against two, two against three, or two against four individuals.

The situation poses a significant challenge for Sabar/Reza. Nevertheless, they are grateful for the support from Hendra, Ahsan, and Marcus, who provide a training venue free of charge.

The twists and turns led Sabar/Reza to become semifinalists at the All England and finalists at the Indonesia Open, which is a Super 1000 level tournament, as well as reaching the final of the Macau Open Super 300. However, they also acknowledged that they have not been able to perform consistently due to losses in the early rounds, such as at the Japan and China Opens.

Therefore, for their debut in the World Championship, Sabar/Reza expressed their determination to play consistently in every round. "We hope to perform at our best in every match, but we must focus on the first round first because the opponent is not easy. By performing at our best, we hope the results will also be optimal," said Reza.