Indonesia Escapes Hong Kong's Trap to Advance to the Suhandinata Cup Quarterfinals

GUWAHATI, WEDNESDAY – The Indonesian badminton team faced an unexpected challenge from Hong Kong during their final match in the Group F qualification of the Suhandinata Cup Junior Mixed Team Badminton Championship. This unpleasant surprise was managed well, allowing Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah and his teammates to advance to the quarter-finals.

The surprise occurred during the match held at the National Centre of Excellence, Guwahati, India, on Wednesday (8/10/2025). Indonesia faced Hong Kong and the Philippines faced Slovenia simultaneously, determining the champion status of Group F, the team entitled to advance to the quarter-finals.

The victory over Hong Kong adds to the same result for Indonesia when facing the Philippines and Slovenia in the two days prior. Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah and his teammates are entitled to the group champion position, advancing to the quarter-finals, while also maintaining the opportunity to defend their championship title. In the quarter-finals, which will take place on Thursday, Indonesia will face the Group E champion, Taiwan.

The 25th edition of the Suhandinata Cup, held from October 6-11, featured 36 countries competing in eight groups in the preliminary round. They competed in a round-robin format to determine the group winners and advance to the knockout phase. The remaining participants continued to compete to determine the final rankings.

However, unlike the event held in Nanchang 2024, the Suhandinata Cup 2025 will utilize a new scoring system. A year ago, each team aimed for 110 points from the men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, in a relay format consisting of two rounds. Thus, each representative aimed to score multiples of 11 across ten matches.

In Guwahati, each representative competes to earn points in multiples of nine, also using a relay system. There are three rounds that play five numbers, but the match is not continued once one team has won two rounds. Therefore, a team is declared the winner if it leads 2-0 or 2-1 against its opponent.

After defeating the Philippines and Slovenia, each with a score of 2-0, Indonesia faced a surprise when competing against Hong Kong. Although only trailing by one point, namely 44-45 (as an accumulation from five events), Indonesia lost in the first round. The match even began with the defeat of the Indonesian men's doubles team, Muhammad Rizki Mubarrok/Raihan Daffa Edsel Pramono, against Cheng Ying Kit/Deng Chi Fai with a score of 6-9.

With a relay system for the overall score calculation, the points earned by each player affect their teammates who play next. When the team is trailing, players must surpass their opponents by accumulating more points to achieve a score that is a multiple of nine.

I finally tried to play more calmly in the second round and was able to control the game. I was finally able to win the third round as well. - Zaki Ubaidillah -

Indonesia ultimately managed to narrow the gap to just one point, despite Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan and Riska Anggraini/Rinjani Kwinara Nastine winning against their opponents. However, their advantage was not sufficient to secure a victory for the team in the first round.

It did not take long for Zaki and his teammates to improve their performance in the next two rounds. Indonesia won by an increasingly wider margin, namely 45-37, then 45-23. Thus, Indonesia triumphed 2-1 over Hong Kong.

Zaki stated that he felt tense yet surprised by the performance of his opponent, Lam Ka To, in the first round. Zaki assessed that Lam possesses the ability to quickly anticipate the game.

"I finally tried to play more calmly in the second round, which allowed me to control the game. I was able to win the third round as well," said Zaki on the official PB Djarum website.

Zaki, who was appointed as the captain of the Indonesian team, became a mainstay in the men's singles sector. He also led Indonesia to victory in the 2024 Suhandinata Cup and reached the semifinals in the individual category in the same year.

In addition to Indonesia facing Taiwan, the other quarter-finals feature Japan against the United States, Malaysia against China, and South Korea competing against India.

At the Arctic Open championship in Vantaa, Finland, Rachel Alessya Rose/Febi Setianingrum and Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari advanced to the second round after progressing through the first round in different ways. Rachel/Febi defeated Keng Shu Liang/Li Hua Zhou (China) 22-20, 21-17, while Febriana/Meilysa received a free pass to the second round as there was no opponent to face in the first round.

Initially, Febriana/Meilysa were scheduled to meet one of the pairs that advanced from the qualifying round, namely Natasja P Anthonisen/Amalie Cecilie Kudsk. However, the Danish pair advanced to the main round after receiving a promotional quota to replace one of the representatives who withdrew.

The two Indonesian women's doubles will both face seeded players in the second round taking place on Thursday. Febriana/Meilysa will compete against the second seeds, Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan, while Rachel/Febi will take on Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi (3). Meanwhile, the other pair, Lanny Tria Mayasari/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi, lost to Arisa Higarashi/Chiharu Shida with scores of 13-21, 21-15, 12-21.

"Tomorrow we will meet Rin/Kie, we will play without pressure, with more confidence, and our focus must be improved. The spirit of not wanting to lose must be displayed," said Febi.

In the opening tournament of this tour in Europe, Indonesia is represented by only three women's doubles pairs. Other players will compete in the Denmark Open, France Open, and Hylo Open in Germany over the next three weeks.