KBRN, Jakarta: In a significant shift for Indonesian badminton, the renowned men's doubles partnership of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto is set to conclude after an 11-year run. The pair's final tournament together will be the 2025 World Championships in Paris, France, from August 25–31, before they each move on to new partners.
Following the championships, Fajar will reunite with Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, and Rian will team up with Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan for the China Masters and Korea Open in September.
"Right now, Rian and I are focused on the World Championships. We are continuing to train and prepare ourselves," Fajar said at the PBSI National Training Center in Cipayung, Jakarta, on Wednesday, August 2025, as quoted by antaranews.com.
Fajar explained that the decision to partner with Fikri again after the World Championships was the result of discussions with the coaches during a recent Asia tour.
"The coaches brought up the discussion from the beginning. I also had a plan with Rian before, but this is still a trial period. The coaches and PBSI want to see more evidence of my consistency with Fikri," he said.
He added that his partnership with Fikri is planned to continue until the end of the year. "Personally, Fikri's spirit is also good. I just want to support each other so we can perform optimally," Fajar said.
Meanwhile, Rian also chose to fully concentrate on the World Championships. He did not want to be burdened by the recent success of Fajar/Fikri, who just won the Super 1000 China Open 2025.
"I don't want to have too high expectations. Especially since Fajar just won. I don't want to be burdened by that. What is certain is that I want to prepare as well as possible and hopefully get maximum results at the World Championships later," Rian said.
PBSI men's doubles coach Antonius Budi Ariantho stated that the extension of the Fajar/Fikri partnership for two tournaments after the World Championships is part of a medium-term evaluation program.
"Seeing Fajar/Fikri's performance was quite good at the Japan Open and China Open, I want to see again if they can consistently compete at the top level," Anton said.
He added that the trial of new men's doubles pairings will continue until the end of the year before PBSI determines the permanent lineup for the 2026 season.
"If Fajar/Fikri can show game consistency, they might be made permanent. The same goes for other pairs that give positive results," he said.
Fajar/Fikri previously made history by winning the Super 1000 China Open 2025 and ending Indonesia's title drought in the elite tournament. In the final, they defeated Malaysia's Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik with a score of 21-15, 21-14 in a 35-minute match in Changzhou on Sunday, July 27, 2025. A week earlier, they had reached the quarterfinals of the Japan Open 2025.
Anton explained that the decision to withdraw Fajar/Rian from the Hong Kong Open 2025 (September 2–7) was made to give them optimal preparation time before their new partnerships.
"Now Fajar and Rian are focused on the World Championships. After that, they have two weeks of preparation before competing with their new respective partners," he said.
PBSI is also awaiting the recovery of men's doubles player Daniel Marthin, who is still nursing an injury. Anton estimates that Daniel will not be able to return to competition until January 2026.
"These four months will be a period of evaluation. While waiting for Daniel's recovery, we are continuing to look for the best formula for the men's doubles sector," Anton concluded. ***
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