Fajar/Fikri's Initial Evidence

SHENZHEN, THURSDAY — Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri aim to prove themselves capable of competing consistently with the world's top men's doubles. The quarter-finals of the China Masters badminton tournament mark the beginning of their demonstration.

The quarter-finals of the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament will take place after Fajar/Fikri defeated the home favorites, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang, in the second round. At the Shenzhen Arena, on Thursday (18/9/2025), they won with a score of 16-21, 21-15, 21-18.

This marks the second victory for Fajar/Fikri over Liang/Wang on their opponent's home ground. Two months ago, Fajar/Fikri defeated the silver medalists of the Paris 2024 Olympics in front of their supporters in another city in China, Changzhou, during the semifinals of the China Open.

In addition to winning the Olympic silver medal, Liang/Wang are semifinalists of the 2023 World Championship and competed in the China Masters after winning the Hong Kong Open from September 9 to 14. They also have the advantage of receiving support from nearly all the spectators at the Shenzhen Arena.

Liang/Wang appeared to be on track to win the match by taking the first game. They made it difficult for Fajar/Fikri to launch attacks as Wang consistently applied pressure near the net.

After that, the atmosphere in the stadium was not as lively as in the first game because Fajar/Fikri managed to seize the momentum in the next two games. They released their emotions and sense of relief by shouting after scoring the final point from Fikri's smash. The winning point was achieved after Liang/Wang narrowed the gap from 15-20 to 18-20.

"It was a quite exhausting and extraordinary match. Liang/Wang had the support of one arena, but we did not want to give up. We continued to do our best, wanting to replicate our victory at the China Open and prove that we can compete with the top pairs," said Fajar.

At the China Open, from July 22 to 27, Fajar/Fikri surprised the world's top pairs by becoming champions. This was their second tournament after reaching the quarter-finals at the Japan Open the week before.

The title from the China Open is the only title for Indonesia in the Super 1000 tournament. In the other three Super 1000 tournaments, namely the Malaysia Open, All England, and Indonesia Open, Indonesian athletes faced tough competition from athletes from other countries, particularly China, South Korea, and Japan.

Thus, the China Masters, which is only one level below the China Open, presents a different journey for Fajar/Fikri. As Fajar stated, the consistency of him and Fikri in competing against the world's top pairs will be tested at the China Masters and in the subsequent tournaments in 2025.

After defeating Liang/Wang, the next challenge for Fajar/Fikri came from the players who had defeated them in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open, Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izuddin. The Malaysian pair defeated another Indonesian representative, Muhammad Rian Ardianto/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan, in the first round.

"We want to try for revenge. We must be more confident and better prepared," said Fikri, expressing his determination after being defeated by Goh/Izuddin 13-21, 21-17, 20-22 in Japan.

In addition to Fajar/Fikri, Putri Kusuma Wardani also advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating Sim Yu-jin (South Korea) 21-16, 21-19. Putri overcame Sim's advantage, which included a unique ability to deliver unpredictable shot directions.

"In my opinion, Sim is one of the players whose shots are the most difficult to handle. She has the advantage of directing the ball when it is close to her racket, which is often unpredictable. However, I feel no pressure to win; I just try to play according to the strategy that has been prepared," said Putri.

The 23-year-old player achieved consistent performance in 2025 compared to the previous year. The quarterfinal match of the China Masters, which will take place on Friday, marks the fifth quarterfinal for Putri in Super 750 tournaments and above, including her reaching the semifinals of the World Championship in France from August 25 to 31.

After becoming a semifinalist in the World Championship, Putri has surpassed her senior, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, to become the number one women's singles player in Indonesia based on the world ranking. Putri is ranked seventh, while Gregoria is eighth, although they have since exchanged positions again.

The Indonesian men's singles and mixed doubles squad has run out of representatives after three pairs were eliminated in the second round. They are Jonatan Christie, Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu, and Amri Syahnawi/Nita Violina Marwah.

Jonatan failed to reach the final as he did in 2024 after being defeated by Lin Chun Yi with scores of 5-21, 20-22. Jonatan struggled to cope with the pressure from Lin, who frequently directed the play to the corners of the court.

"Today, he played more patiently with a slightly slower tempo, whereas I usually play aggressively and quickly. As for me, I played less calmly and in a hurry," said Jonatan.

Meanwhile, Felisha stated that her and Jafar's abilities are still far from the world champions, Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei, who defeated them 13-21, 21-13, 16-21. "They played well and consistently. We need to continue learning how to handle pressure in order to become top players like them," said Felisha.

The defeat in the second round of the China Masters marked the third consecutive early elimination for Jafar/Felisha. This occurred after they reached the semifinals of the China Open. In addition to losing to Chen/Toh in the second round of the China Masters and the third round of the World Championship, they were defeated by Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping in the second round of the Hong Kong Open.

The series of defeats demonstrates that Jafar/Felisha are still struggling to overcome the world's top mixed doubles teams. The 22 and 20-year-old players still need to learn how to handle pressure in high-level competition. Moreover, 2025 will be their first year competing intensively in the BWF World Tour tournaments.