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The Star
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Fajar swaps partner in bid to end Indonesia's title drought
Break-up: Indonesia men's doubles shuttlers Fajar Alfian will split up with Muhammad Rian Ardianto temporarily. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Do not write off Indonesia's men's doubles just yet. That's the rallying cry from top shuttler Fajar Alfian as he is optimistic that his country's World Tour title drought in the men's doubles will be over soon this year. Despite being traditionally strong in the men's doubles, Indonesia have surprisingly fired blanks as far as titles are concerned so far this year – an unusual dry spell for a nation renowned for their depth and dominance in the discipline. And Fajar believes that a temporary switch-and-swap in partnership for him will work wonders. The 30-year-old Fajar, who is ranked fifth in the world with Rian Ardianto, will embark on a short partnership with Shohibul Fikri in the Japan Open starting on Tuesday in Tokyo and the China Open from July 22-27 in Changzhou. This is after Shohibul's regular partner Daniel Marthin underwent knee surgery last month and will need some time to recover. Fajar is hoping to impress with Shohibul in the two Opens. "Our men's doubles have not won a title this year but for me, it's just a matter of time that one of our pairs become champions," said Fajar in an interview in the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) website. "So far this year, some of us have reached finals in tournaments but we have missed out on titles. "It will definitely not be easy but we have to keep aiming high. I'm optimistic that we can do better moving forward." Fajar's best performance with Rian so far this year came at home in the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta in January where they finished runners-up to Malaysia's world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun. In the Japan and China tourneys, Fajar and Shohibul are set to present a tricky challenge for their rivals. The pair could go up against Malaysia's world No. 1 and defending champions Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani if they reach the last eight. Fajar-Shohibul though will first have to navigate a difficult opening match against world No. 8 teammates Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza before a potential clash against either Denmark's Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard or Taiwan's Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan in the second round. Another Indonesian pair in the competition hoping to end their title drought this year are world No. 9 Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana. Leo-Bagas will play Taiwan's world No. 24 Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han in the first round.
The Star
01-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
High and low for Indonesia as they beat Denmark but Daniel gets injured
Big upset: Indonesia's 2023 world junior champion Alwi Farhan celebrates after defeating Denmark's Anders Antonsen in their men's singles match. - AFP PETALING JAYA: Indonesia proved their mettle by clinching the top spot in Group D with a dominant 4-1 victory over Denmark but the victory came at a heavy price. Men's doubles shuttler Daniel Marthin, who partnered Shohibul Fikri, picked up an injury during their match against world No. 1 pair Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Kim Astrup. Daniel hurt himself after landing awkwardly while returning a shot, which left him struggling with discomfort in his left leg. Despite the pain, he soldiered on and helped secure a crucial 21-16, 21-18 win, delivering the winning point for Indonesia. "I felt some discomfort in my left knee after landing awkwardly from a jump," said Daniel, as quoted by the Indonesian Badminton Association. "I could still put weight on my right leg, but it was difficult to rely on the left. I didn't want to think too much about it during the match – my focus was just on finishing the game and giving my best to win. "Now, I'll focus on recovery and get a detailed check-up. Hopefully, it's nothing serious." Indonesia only dropped one point through Rinov Rivaldy-Gloria Widjaja who fell 20-22, 23-21, 16-21 to Jesper Toft-Amalie Magelund in the mixed doubles. Their 2023 world junior champion Alwi Farhan pulled off a stunning upset by beating world No. 2 Anders Antonsen 21-17, 15-21, 21-17 while the other winners were Putri Kusuma (women's singles) and Febriana Kusuma-Amallia Pratiwi (women's doubles). Indonesia have now joined China, South Korea and Japan as group winners into the quarter-finals. RESULTS Group A: China bt Thailand 4-1. Group B: Korea bt Taiwan 4-1. Group C: Japan bt Malaysia 3-2 (Hiroki Midorikawa-Arisa Higashino lost to Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei 19-21, 18-21; Kodai Naraoka lost to Leong Jun Hao 8-21, 21-13, 18-21; Tomoka Miyazaki bt. Goh Jin Wei 21-14, 21-17; Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi bt Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik 12-21, 22-20, 23-21; Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida bt Pearly Tan- M. Thinaah18-21-18, 18-21, 21-18). Group D: Indonesia bt Denmark 4-1 (Rinov Rivaldy-Gloria Widjaja lost to Jesper Toft-Amalie Magelund 22-20, 21-23, 21-16; Alwi Farhan bt Anders Antonsen 21-17, 15-21, 21-17; Putri Kusuma bt Line Kjaersfeldt 21-6, 21-5; Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin bt Kim Astrup Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-16, 21-18; Febriana Kusuma-Amallia Pratiwi bt Alexandra Boje-Line Christophersen 21-15, 21-15.)
