Positive and Negative Indonesia vs Malaysia

QINGDAO, WEDNESDAY—Anything can happen on the field. This phrase, which usually describes unexpected moments, occurred when the Indonesian badminton team faced Malaysia. The Indonesian squad had to carry both positive and negative moments from that match as they entered the quarter-finals of the Asian Mixed Team Championships in Qingdao, China.

The "Merah Putih" team played their final Group B qualifying match on Thursday (13/2/2025), after securing a spot in the quarter-finals the day before. However, Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi and her teammates carried a mission beyond merely qualifying, which was to become the champions of Group B. This target could be achieved by winning just two out of the five events.

On the other hand, Malaysia faces a must-win task if they want to appear in the quarter-finals on Friday. If not, the quarter-final ticket from the same group will go to Hong Kong, who were defeated by Indonesia 0-5 on Tuesday, then won 3-2 against Malaysia.

Indonesia finally ended Malaysia's run with a 3-2 victory. The two countries, which have a long history of rivalry in the world of badminton, experienced ups and downs in the event that serves as the Asian zone qualifier for the Sudirman Cup championship in Xiamen, China, from April 27 to May 4.

With three teams competing in a round robin format across four groups, only the top two finishers from each group advance to the quarter-finals. The initial stage of the knockout phase pits the group winners against the runners-up from different groups in a draw held after all group matches have been completed.

The strength of Indonesia and Malaysia from the athletes brought is clearly visible based on performance statistics: Indonesia excels in women's singles and doubles, while Malaysia's main events are mixed doubles and men's singles. Men's doubles is an event with balanced strength even though Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Daniel Marthin have only been paired since August 2024. Meanwhile, Malaysia's mainstay, Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun, came as semifinalists of the Malaysia Open and champions of the Indonesia Masters in January.

However, the advantage of statistics on paper, even on the field, cannot always be used as a benchmark for results before the match is truly over. Indonesia, particularly the men's singles player, Yohanes Saut Marcellyno, learned this valuable lesson.

Saut played in the third match against Leong Jun Hao after Indonesia led 2-0. Although his opponent had more experience playing in the BWF World Tour and team events, Saut almost made Indonesia win three games in a row when he created match point, 20-17, in the second game. However, an unexpected moment broke his focus and Saut lost with a score of 21-11, 20-22, 12-21.

"At match point, there was a situation where the ball should have gone out, but I took it, it made my focus disappear. Then, I felt unsure and it carried over into the third game. I was disappointed not to be able to contribute a point for Indonesia," said Saut who did not play against Hong Kong because Indonesia fielded Alwi Farhan.

Before Saut's match point moment, Indonesia's chances of winning in the first three matches were opened by Dejan Ferdinansyah/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti's victory in the first match. Indonesia stole the mixed doubles number from Malaysia after Dejan/Fadia defeated Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie 17-21, 21-13, 21-18.

Reflecting on the global competition map, Malaysia should not lose the mixed doubles category. They have four pairs in the top 20 world rankings, including two pairs brought to Qingdao, namely Goh/Lai who are ranked fourth in the world and Hoo Pang Ron/Chen Su Yin in the 15th position. Meanwhile, Dejan/Fadia and Rinov Rivaldy/Lisa Ayu Kusumawati have only been paired since January 2025.

"Alhamdulillah, today we were able to contribute points and play well, but, at the beginning, we were still feeling our way around how to play. Towards the end of the first game, then in the second and third games, we were finally able to overcome the pressure," Dejan commented.

Despite winning, there are notes that Dejan/Fadia must pay attention to if they play again in the next matches. They were ahead by eight points, 12-4, in the third game, but, the opponent was able to equalize the score at 16-16.

Goh/Lai sped up the game after the interval in the deciding game to overcome Dejan/Fadia's slower playing style as they tried to defend first before attacking. Goh/Lai's point-addition rate was finally stopped after Dejan and Fadia reminded each other to be confident. In addition, they tried to reduce mistakes, until they were able to lead again from 17-16.

In addition to the mixed doubles, the victory was achieved after defending the singles and women's doubles numbers which should have been Indonesia's advantage. Without the presence of Malaysia's women's doubles ranked fifth in the world, Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan, Indonesia was able to take advantage of the opportunity.

Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi defeated Karupathevan Letshanaa 21-12, 21-19 in the second match, while Rachel Alessya Rose/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari defeated Go Pei Kee/Teoh Mei Xing 18-21, 21-7, 21-17 in a match lasting one hour and 26 minutes. The men's doubles competition ended with a narrow margin. Man/Tee won 25-27, 21-17, 23-21 after thwarting two match points by Fikri/Daniel.

"Praise God, happy to be able to contribute winning points for Indonesia. Happy also because I was able to escape from the tension. Honestly, we were tense in this match because we have had bad experiences in this position. We often lose, very grateful when we won today," said Rachel.

The match between Rachel/Meilysa and Go/Teoh was the longest in the competition between Indonesia and Malaysia. Except for the women's singles, the other four numbers each lasted more than an hour, so that the total of five matches lasted five hours and 33 minutes. Added to the break time between matches, the competition between Indonesia and Malaysia lasted six hours and 10 minutes.

We often lose, so grateful to win today.

The duration was longer than the match between South Korea and India (3-2) for four hours and 28 minutes in Group D. South Korea became the group champion, followed by India.

From other groups, the teams that qualified for the quarter-finals and underwent the group champion fight on Thursday night were China and Taiwan (Group A) and Japan and Thailand (Group D). The four semifinalist teams are entitled to appear in the Sudirman Cup. (yes)

Dejan Ferdinand/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti vs Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie 17-21, 21-13, 21-18

Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi vs Karupathevan Letshanaa 21-12, 21-19

Yohanes Saut Marcellyno vs Leong Jun Hao 21-11, 20-22, 12-21

Rachel Allessya Rose/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari vs Go Pei Kee/Teoh Mei Xing 18-21, 21-7, 21-17

Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Daniel Marthin vs Man Wei Chong/Kai Wun Tee 27-25, 17-21, 21-23