New Power Show at Sudirman Cup

As a mixed team championship, the Sudirman Cup serves as a benchmark for the strength of each country. In the first year following the Olympics, such as the Sudirman Cup in Xiamen, China, held from April 27 to May 4 after the Paris 2024 Olympics, participants will compete with new strengths.

A total of 16 teams will compete for the trophy named after the Indonesian badminton figure, Dick Sudirman. Indonesia was also the first host of the championship, held in Jakarta in 1989, and emerged as the champion.

However, it was only during the first event that Indonesia stood on the highest podium, although it has reached the finals six times since then. Since losing to China 0-3 in the championship match in Glasgow 2007, Indonesia has not reached the final again. Since 2009, Indonesian badminton has started to be matched, and even surpassed by countries that had never reached the semifinals before, such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan.

Thailand reached the semifinals three times out of four tournaments held between 2013 and 2019. Japan has consistently been part of the top four since 2015 until 2023, including when they appeared in the finals in 2015, 2019, and 2021. Malaysia also became a semifinalist in Vantaa 2021 and Suzhou 2023, while Indonesia was always eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Now, at the 19th edition of the Sudirman Cup, the "Merah Putih" team is striving to achieve better results compared to the last two editions. The Chairman of the PP PBSI, Fadil Imran, even stated the target of reaching the finals in Xiamen, in addition to providing experience, especially for young athletes. Fadil referred to the results of the finals of the Indonesian men's and women's teams in other team championships, the Thomas and Uber Cups 2024 in Chengdu, China.

Setting targets must indeed be as high as possible; however, one should not forget to reflect on the legacy of Indonesian badminton, especially regarding the competition in 2025.

Of the eight tournaments in the BWF World Tour (Super 300 to 1000), there was only one representative from Indonesia who emerged as champions, namely Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti/Lanny Tria Mayasari. They won the women's doubles title at the Thailand Masters Super 300 tournament in early February. In the continental tournament at the Super 1000 level, the Asian Championships held in Ningbo, China, from April 8 to 13, Indonesia also failed to bring home a title. The best results were the semifinals achieved by Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana and Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu.

However, before looking too far into the opportunities to achieve the target that was last reached 18 years ago, every athlete entrusted to strengthen the "Merah Putih" Team must be directed to focus step by step. Competing in the team championship, they must also maintain focus on themselves to perform at their best whenever called upon. Moreover, the challenges for Jonatan Christie and his teammates will feel heavy from the very first step.

Indonesia will compete with Denmark, India, and England in Group D for the two top positions required to advance to the quarter-finals. Compared to the other three groups, which also consist of four teams, the competition in Group D is considered more challenging due to the presence of Indonesia, Denmark, and India, which possess comparable strengths. England is ranked below the three, but should not be underestimated.

England will be Indonesia's first opponent in the match at Fenghuang Gymnasium, Sunday (27/4/2025), starting at 16:00 WIB. This will serve as both a warm-up and a good test for Indonesia as the challenges will become increasingly difficult at every step.

Aside from Jonatan and Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, who are accustomed to being key players in the men's singles and doubles sectors, other events will have different mainstays compared to the 2023 Sudirman Cup.

Putri Kusuma Wardani, who has been accompanying Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the team championships, has been promoted to the main women's singles position due to her senior's absence because of illness. After only playing twice as a member of the Indonesian team in the Sudirman Cup in 2021 and 2023, this time, Putri must prepare to compete in every match.

In the group stage, there is the senior player from India, Pusarla V Sindhu, as the toughest opponent. If she advances to the next stage, Putri or the second women's singles player, Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo, could face "heavyweight" athletes such as An Se-young (South Korea), Akane Yamaguchi (Japan), Chen Yu Fei, or Wang Zhi Yi (China).

The women's doubles will rely on the debutants in the Sudirman Cup, Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi, even though they currently hold the status of Indonesia's number one pair. Another alternative is Fadia/Lanny, as the gold medalist of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Apriyani Rahayu, is not included.

Like the women's doubles, all men's doubles and mixed doubles players must always be ready to compete, even though this sector features the best pairs based on their positions in the world rankings, namely Fajar/Rian and Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari.

Both pairs have experience competing in the Sudirman Cup in 2021 and 2023. However, experience is not the only indicator for determining the athletes who will compete in the team championship.

There are other determining factors, such as meeting statistics and the playing style of the prospective opponent. In addition, as stated by several coaches, the most important factor is the condition of the athlete in question leading up to the match.

The "relay baton" of Fajar/Rian can be handed over to Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Daniel Marthin. In addition, there is the option to form a duet among these four players and Bagas, who arrived in Xiamen without Leo due to a left knee injury. In fact, the performance and confidence of Leo/Bagas improved in 2025 with their success in reaching the finals of the All England and the semifinals of the Asian Championships.

Introducing other athletes besides the main pair is more open in mixed doubles considering that Rinov/Pitha have only participated in one event in 2025, namely the Asian Championships. At the beginning of the year, they were paired with other players, with Rinov partnering with Lisa Ayu Kusumawati and Pitha alongside Verreli Yustin Mulia.

However, since Rinov/Pitha reunited after the Asian Championship, they resumed training as a pair in preparation for the Sudirman Cup. After participating in a Sudirman Cup simulation at the national training center in Cipayung, Jakarta, on April 21, for instance, they intensively built communication by conversing with each other.

Another option to replace Rinov/Pitha is Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja and Dejan Ferdinansyah/Fadia. Rehan, who has not been a national training center player since 2025, made his debut at the Sudirman Cup; however, he is alongside Gloria, who played in the Sudirman Cup in 2017, 2019, and 2023 with different partners. This duo, training at PB Djarum, comes with a background that includes reaching the finals of the German Open and Orleans Masters, the quarter-finals of the All England, and winning the Polish Open throughout March.

Different formations can also be an option. Based on the preparations in training, the primary choice for the new formation is Rinov alongside other female athletes or Gloria with other male athletes.

From other team championships, I learned how to handle greater pressure because the match results will affect the team.

In the men's singles, Jonatan could hand over the baton to one of the two young players who are members of the Sudirman Cup Team for the first time, namely Alwi Farhan or Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah. They were selected because Anthony Sinisuka Ginting is injured, while Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo has not shown any improvement in performance.

However, considering the significant challenges faced by Indonesia since the initial match, replacing Jonatan would be a gamble. Moreover, competing in a team championship carries greater pressure compared to participating in individual tournaments.

Alwi experienced this during the 2024 Thomas Cup, even though he was behind Anthony and Jonatan. "From other team championships, I learned how to handle greater pressure because the match results will affect the team. In such situations, I learned that I must remain focused on myself if I am called upon," he said.

Unlike the Thomas and Uber Cups, which consist of three singles and two doubles matches in each competition, the Sudirman Cup only allows one representative to compete from each sector. Coaches must be discerning in selecting the athletes who will play.

As an experienced athlete and with his status as the number one men's singles player in Indonesia, Jonatan will face the possibility of being fielded every time Indonesia competes. "The determination of which athletes will play depends on various factors, but to anticipate the need to always compete, I prepare my physical condition to be optimal. Mental factors and others are also prepared because the opponents in the group are all strong," said Jonatan.

The presence of Alwi and Zaki, aged 19 and 17, respectively, as well as the shifting roles of athletes in other events, are consequences of the changes in strength following the Paris 2024 Olympics, in addition to injury factors. After Paris 2024 and in preparation for the next Olympics in Los Angeles 2028, regeneration must indeed be carried out. Enhancing their skills is not only done through daily training at the Cipayung national training center but also in competitions, both individual and team events.

Of the 19 Indonesian athletes who traveled to Xiamen, eight of them are representing the Sudirman Cup team for the first time. A similar situation exists in other countries. Nearly half of their strength consists of new faces in this biennial championship held in odd-numbered years.

China, as the host and defending champion, has seven new faces among the 21 athletes registered. Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand each have eight debutants. South Korea is bringing only five new players, but they have various new formations in the doubles events.

India, which is in the same group as Indonesia, is reinforced by seven debutants out of 14 players. Meanwhile, Denmark, which is not reinforced by Viktor Axelsen due to a recent back surgery, brings 19 athletes with nine new faces. One of the debutants that Denmark will rely on is the mixed doubles European champion ranked seventh in the world, Jesper Toft/Amelie Magelund.

China even has a new strength that has become the number one player in the world, namely the mixed doubles team of Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin. The host country is also reinforced by Guo Xin Wan/Chen Fang Hui, the All England mixed doubles champions.

After going through two individual tournaments at the Super 1000 level, the Malaysia Open and All England, the shifting power dynamics of each country will be evident in the competition in Xiamen over the next week. The 2025 Sudirman Cup will reveal which countries have a solid foundation of strength after Paris 2024 in the lead-up to LA 2028.