Indonesia Never Gives Up, Stops in Sudirman Cup Semifinals

XIAMEN, SATURDAY — Indonesia's journey in the Sudirman Cup championship was halted by South Korea in the semifinals. Amid the declining performance of Indonesian badminton on the world stage, at least over the past 1.5 years, reaching the semifinals has become a realistic best outcome.

Indonesia lost to South Korea with a score of 2-3 in the semifinal held at Fenghuang Gymnasium, Xiamen, China, on Saturday (3/5/2025). Points for Indonesia were scored by Alwi Farhan and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Bagas Maulana in the men's singles and doubles. Meanwhile, South Korea won in mixed doubles, women's singles, and women's doubles.

In another semifinal, the host did not stop in their quest to return to the final. The victory over Japan with a score of 3-0 propelled China to the final for the 16th time in 19 editions of the Sudirman Cup since 1989 in Jakarta. The meeting between China and South Korea on Sunday repeated the final of the 2023 Sudirman Cup, which was won by China with a score of 3-0.

The semifinals of the 2025 Sudirman Cup mark the first for Indonesia since the championship in Nanning 2019. After that, Jonatan Christie and his teammates have consistently been eliminated in the quarterfinals.

This fourth-place position is quite realistic considering Indonesia's lag in the competition of the BWF World Tour tournaments. Out of the eight Super 300, 500, 750, and 1000 tournaments that have taken place in 2025, Indonesian players have only secured one championship title, which was in women's doubles, won by Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti/Lanny Tria Mayasari, at the Thailand Masters Super 300 tournament.

Indonesia is losing the competition against South Korean players who have already collected 11 championship titles, four of which are from high-level tournaments, the Malaysia Open and All England Super 1000. China has secured eight championship titles, while Japan and Thailand have five titles each, and Denmark has three championship titles.

The competition in the BWF World Tour series was evident in Xiamen over the past week. As a mixed team championship, the Sudirman Cup reflects the strength of each country across all events.

Against South Korea, Indonesia's weaknesses were evident. The "Red and White" team lost points in mixed doubles, women's singles, and women's doubles.

In the world rankings, South Korea actually only places its women's singles and doubles players in the top ten. Nevertheless, this country has men's doubles and mixed players who are difficult to defeat even when changing partners. South Korea's only weakness lies in men's singles.

Seo Seung-jae is one of the best among South Korean doubles players. He became the 2023 world champion in two categories, namely men's doubles with Kang Min-hyuk and mixed doubles with Chae Yu-jung.

After parting ways with Kang starting November 2024, Seo remains a formidable competitor in the men's doubles event, which has become his focus following the Paris 2024 Olympics. In 2025, he won four tournaments, including the Malaysia Open and All England alongside Kim Won-ho.

In the Sudirman Cup, Seo is also relied upon in mixed doubles and he played again alongside Chae. This duo was deployed in crucial matches, namely against Taiwan in the group championship decider, Denmark (quarterfinals), and Indonesia (semifinals).

Seo/Chae always wins, including against Dejan Ferdinansyah/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, who were the opening match of the Indonesia – South Korea semifinal. The victory was achieved with a score of 21-10, 21-15.

Initially, the mixed doubles event was one of the categories that Indonesia relied on to achieve points. As stated by the Head of Development and Achievement Division of PP PBSI Eng Hian, before the semifinals took place, the selection of Dejan/Fadia was based on the team's needs and strategy.

"We are assessing where the strengths of Indonesia and South Korea lie. We see that South Korea's strength is in the women's singles and doubles, so we are relying on the other three events," said Eng Hian.

With the calculation of having a chance to win in mixed doubles, men's singles, and men's doubles, Indonesia registered Fadia in the mixed doubles and women's events. When an athlete competes in two doubles events, the order of matches typically starts with mixed doubles and concludes with either men's or women's doubles.

The order of play is available in seven options as stated in the BWF statutes. The tournament referee determines the format used in each match to avoid athletes playing two matches in a row or playing doubles before singles. The referee also chooses the order so that athletes playing two events have a minimum of 30 minutes rest between their two matches.

The order used, coincidentally, aligns with Indonesia's expectations, namely mixed doubles, men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, and women's doubles. However, when the players' strength fell short against their opponents, the results did not meet expectations. Indonesia was unable to win in mixed doubles.

Removing Dejan is actually risky because he was only benched in the semifinals and did not experience the atmosphere of the previous matches. The partnership of Dejan/Fadia has also not been long-standing. They have only competed in five tournaments this year.

However, the mixed doubles have no other options. Rinov Rivaldy/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja lost twice. Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Gloria also could not contribute any points. Rinov won when paired with Pitha Haningtyas Mentari against England, but their performance was not convincing.

Dejan stated that the individual abilities of Seo and Chae are very good despite their long time apart as a pair. "They already have their own pattern, and that is their asset. We tried to implement our playing pattern, which is to attack, but we did not find sufficient gaps to score points," commented Dejan.

What Dejan experienced was different from the men's doubles team, Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Bagas Maulana. They played while Indonesia was trailing 1-2 after securing a victory from Alwi and losing points from Putri Kusuma Wardani. Alwi won against Cho Geonyeop 16-21, 21-8, 21-8, followed by Putri's defeat against the world number one player, An Se-young.

Although Fikri played alongside Daniel Marthin in two matches, this is the first time he has partnered with Bagas in the Sudirman Cup. In the individual tournament, Fikri also teamed up with Daniel, while Bagas partnered with Leo Rolly Carnando since August 2024.

However, Fikri/Bagas had previously partnered for six years, since 2018, so it did not take long to establish their playing pattern. They "extended Indonesia's breath" after defeating Seo/Kim 21-18, 13-21, 25-23.

The match presented tension for both teams, especially in the third game. Seo/Kim had the first opportunity to win when they reached match point at 20-19; however, Fikri/Bagas thwarted this chance thanks to their fighting spirit and the unwavering support from their teammates, who continuously cheered while singing and drumming. The Indonesian pair, champions of All England 2023, turned the tables by gaining match point and winning the match on the third match point.

"They are not an easy opponent, very tough, but we focus on ourselves. Behind us, the team supports in an extraordinary way, so we are more motivated to give our best," said Fikri.

Not only for their colleagues sitting in the team stands, the atmosphere of tension was also felt on the warm-up field, where the women's doubles players were warming up. Fadia and Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi, along with Lee So-hee/Baek Ha-na, watched their friends' performance on TV.

The two pairs ultimately had the opportunity to compete in a match that was decisive for both teams. After easily losing the first game, Fadia/Amalia rallied and made the match extend to three games, although they ultimately lost 10-21, 21-18, 15-21.

The hard work of Amalia/Fadia and Fadia's tears as she approached the team, after competing for one hour and 31 minutes, at least demonstrate that they have fought to the best of their abilities for the Red and White.

Dejan Ferdinand/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti – Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu-jung 10-21, 15-21

Alwi Farhan – Cho Geonyeop 16-21, 21-8, 21-8

Princess Kusuma Wardani – An Se-young 18-21, 12-21

Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Bagas Maulana – Seo Seung-jae/Kim Won-ho 21-18, 13-21, 25-23

Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti – Lee So-hee/Baek Ha-na 10-21, 21-18, 15-21