All England Tournament's Horrific Draw

BIRMINGHAM, TUESDAY — The allure of the championship and the evenly matched competition landscape make the All England badminton tournament promisingly engaging from the very first round. This is at least evident in the draw for the competition, which will take place at Utilita Arena Birmingham, England, from March 11-16.

The evenly matched strength between top athletes and non-top athletes requires every athlete to activate a high alert from the very beginning. The draw held on Tuesday (4/3/2025) has resulted in the potential for "terrifying" competition starting from the first round.

A total of 11 Indonesian representatives could not escape the tough draw. The defending men's singles champion, Jonatan Christie, will face Leong Jun Hao in the first round. Malaysia's number two athlete leads 2-1 in head-to-head meetings with Jonatan and won their most recent encounter, which took place in the semifinals of the Kumamoto Masters 2024.

If he can overcome the first challenge with a victory, Jonatan will face either Koki Watanabe or Lakshya Sen in the second round. Meanwhile, a potential opponent in the quarterfinals is the 2023 All England champion, Li Shi Feng.

Another Indonesian men's singles player, Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, will even directly face the world number one player, Shi Yu Qi. Chico has never won in four encounters with the 2018 All England champion.

In the women's singles category, Putri Kusuma Wardani's debut in one of the four Super 1000-level tournaments will be marked by a match against the eighth seed from Thailand, Supanida Katethong. The match features two athletes with relatively high rankings, as Katethong holds the eighth position in the world rankings, while Putri, who has lost in their two previous encounters, is ranked 12th.

With that ranking, Putri also got her first chance to appear in the All England which was attended by 32 representatives in each category. In previous years, the 2024 Korea Masters champion did not have a high enough position in the world rankings so she never got a ticket to the All England. Moreover, since the tournament structure was named the BWF World Tour in 2018, there has been no qualifying phase in the Super 1000 and 750 events.

At All England 2025, Putri will accompany her senior, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. Based on the record of meetings with her opponents, Gregoria has a chance (at least) to reach the quarterfinals like her achievements in the last two years. If her journey can go further, Gregoria's potential opponent in the semifinals is the second seed, Wang Zhi Yi.

The two women's doubles representatives, Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi and Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, did not escape the tough challenges at the beginning, namely against the Thai and Taiwanese pairs. If they can win the first challenge, the seeded players can be their opponents in the second round.

Meanwhile, Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja's ability will be directly tested by the second seed from Malaysia, Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei. The only Indonesian representative in the mixed doubles brings with them the experience of being a finalist at the German Open, February 25-March 2, at the beginning of their collaboration this year.

The competition will be even hotter in the men's doubles. As said by the men's doubles coach of the national training center Antonius Budi Ariantho, all participants in the number have equal abilities. Those who are not seeded do not necessarily mean they will be easy opponents.

Therefore, the champions in the last two years, Fajar Alfian/Muhamamd Rian Ardianto, should not underestimate Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi who will be their opponents in the first round. The Chinese pair defeated Fajar/Rian in their only meeting, in the second round of the 2023 China Masters.

Another Indonesian men's doubles pair got a more challenging draw because they immediately met the top seeds. Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, who are ranked 10th in the world, will face the silver medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (3).

Sabar/Reza got their first All England ticket thanks to their good performance in 2024. They won the Spanish Masters, reached the semifinals of the Indonesia Open and the BWF Finals, and appeared in the finals of four other tournaments. Since January 21, Sabar/Reza have been ranked 10th in the world.

Other unseeded pairs that cannot be underestimated include Kim Won-ho/Seo Seung-jae. They started 2025 by winning two titles from three finals. There are also Malaysian players, Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun, who were semifinalists in the Malaysia Open and won the Indonesia Masters.

Except for Rehan/Gloria and Apriyani/Fadia, other Indonesian athletes will immediately appear in the All England on the European Tour which will run for four consecutive weeks since the end of February. After appearing in the German Open, Rehan/Gloria will play in the Orleans Masters, France, this week and will play the first round against Ki Dong-ju/Jeong Na-eun on Wednesday.

Apriyani/Fadia, who also played in the Orleans Masters, won their comeback by defeating Sung Shuo Yun/Yu Chien Hui 21-11, 21-17 in the first round on Tuesday. In their next match, the 2023 All England quarter-finalists will face the Danish pair, Julie Finne-Ipsen/Mai Surrow, who eliminated eighth seeds, Chen Qing Chen/Wang Ting Ge, in the first round.

For Apriyani/Fadia, the Orleans Masters tournament is the first after the 2024 Paris Olympics. After being eliminated in the group stage, Apriyani was sidelined from the tournament, while Fadia duetted with Lanny Tria Mayasari. Apriyani's commitment to play again made her appear again with Fadia.

Rachel Alessya Rose/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari also won the early round. They eliminated the third seed, Laksika Kanlaha/Phataomas Muenwong 21-11, 23-21. This was a revenge for Rachel/Meilysa's defeat to the same opponent in the semifinals of the Thailand Masters, February.

Jonatan Christie – Leong Jun Hao (Malaysia)

Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo – Shi Yu Qi (China)

Michelle Li (Canada)

Princess Kusuma Wardani – Supanida Katethong (Thailand)

Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto – Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi (China)

Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Daniel Marthin-Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark)

Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana Lee Fang Chin/Lee Lee Fang Jen (Taiwan)

Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi-Laksika Kanlaha/Phataimas Muenwong (Thailand)

Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti-Hsu Yin Hui/Lin Jhih Yun (Taiwan)

Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja – Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei (Malaysia)