Sudirman Cup Still Belongs to China

XIAMEN, SUNDAY—South Korea has a good chance of winning the Sudirman Cup 2025. However, China is too strong and difficult to overcome in their pursuit of a 14th title.

The 14th title for the Chinese badminton team was secured after defeating South Korea 3-1 in the final held in front of their home crowd at the Feng Huang Gymnasium, Xiamen, on Sunday (4/5/2025). No other country can come close to China with 14 titles from 16 finals.

Since the Sudirman Cup was held in Jakarta in 1989, China has only failed to reach the finals in the first three editions. The championship title in the finals of 1989, 1991, and 1993 was always contested between Indonesia and South Korea. Indonesia won the first edition, followed by South Korea in the next two editions.

In Xiamen, South Korea actually has a great opportunity to become champions, as they did the last time they defeated China in the final in 2017. Although the men's singles is a weak point, they have the world number one in women's singles, An Se-young, and top world doubles players.

However, the material was not strong enough to overcome China. South Korea could only secure points from An in the second match, resulting in the final lasting four matches. The men's doubles event, originally scheduled for the fifth match, was not played.

The tight match only occurred in the mixed doubles event, which was played first. Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping played three games against the 2023 world champions, Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu-jung, and won with a score of 21-16, 17-21, 21-15.

The match was marred by a red card given by the referee to Huang at the beginning of the third game because he was considered to have slowed down the match. Huang took a toilet break in the middle of the interval between the second and third games, so the start of the third game was late. Seo/Chae, who were already preparing on the court, had to wait for Huang to return. The red card resulted in one point being awarded to Seo/Chae.

After both teams shared victories in the singles events, South Korea placed its hopes on the women's doubles pair, Lee So-hee/Baek Ha-na, who had a 5-3 lead over Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning and won their last encounter. However, Lee/Baek struggled to cope with the pace of Liu/Tan's game, a new generation of Chinese women's doubles who secured the silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Liu/Tan's victory with scores of 21-14, 21-17 ensured that the Sudirman Cup remained in China.

Regarding the Indonesian team, the Head of Development and Achievement Division of PP PBSI, Eng Hian, provided an evaluation from two perspectives, namely the results and the performance of the athletes. The semifinal results did not meet expectations, especially since the Chairman of PP PBSI, Fadil Imran, had stated the target of reaching the finals before the team departed for China.

Nevertheless, there is a positive aspect that will be followed up by the PBSI management upon their return from China, namely the performance displayed by young players, such as Alwi Farhan (19 years old), Putri Kusuma Wardani (22), and Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah (17).

In the five matches that Indonesia has played from the group stage to the semifinals, player rotation was carried out as needed. A total of 19 players who traveled to Xiamen had the opportunity to compete.

Debutants in the team with limited experience participated in the BWF World Tour, namely Zaki and Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo (20), who played against England in the first match. Alwi and Putri performed well in this crucial match.

Alwi defeated Anders Antonsen during the match between Indonesia and Denmark in the group championship. In the semifinals, the 19-year-old athlete equalized the score between Indonesia and South Korea to 1-1 after Indonesia lost the first match in the mixed doubles category.

The appearance of the reserve players is not bad. The trust given to them, the results are good.

Putri achieved three consecutive victories, namely against Pusarla V Sindhu (India), Line Hoejmark Kjaersfeldt (Denmark), and Pornpawee Chochuwong (Thailand), before losing to the world number one in women's singles, An Se-young.

Putri performed her role well as the first women's singles player after Gregoria Mariska Tunjung withdrew from the team due to illness. The men's singles sector was also not reinforced by senior athlete Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who is still recovering from a right arm injury.

"The performance of the substitute players was not bad. The trust placed in them yielded good results. The difference between Putri and the world number one player is not too far. After this, we need to conduct an evaluation of what programs should be implemented immediately so that their level can continue to improve," said Eng Hian.

Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, Daniel Marthin, and Bagas Maulana also received more opportunities compared to their seniors, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, in the men's doubles. Fajar/Rian, in fact, only played once when facing England.

Nevertheless, there remains homework for this category, which is to quickly produce a successor beneath Fikri and his colleagues. Currently, the national training squad for men's doubles only has Fajar/Rian, Fikri/Daniel, and Bagas/Leo Rolly Carnando who can compete in the BWF World Tour tournaments.

Eng Hian stated that there is more homework to be done for the women's doubles and mixed doubles teams. In five matches at the Sudirman Cup, the mixed doubles team only secured one victory, and that was against England.

"For the women's doubles, there is no reliable player to compete in tournaments at the Super 500 level and above. The program needs to be improved or a new formula must be sought," said the former men's doubles player.

Reflecting on the 2025 Sudirman Cup, there is hope in the young athletes to bring home the Sudirman Cup in the next event. "I am proud of this team. The spirit shown must be maintained," said Eng Hian.

Final result China – South Korea 3-1

Mixed doubles

Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping – Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu-jung 21-16, 17-21, 21-15

Women's singles

Wang Zhi Yi – An Se-young 17-21, 16-21

Men's Singles

Shi Yu Qi – Jeon Hyeok-jin 21-5, 21-5

Women's Doubles

Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning – Lee So-hee/Baek Ha-na 14-21, 17-21

Men's Doubles

Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang – Seo Seung-jae/Kim Won-ho (not played)