RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia fell behind South Korea early in the women’s semifinal of the 2026 Badminton Asia Team Championships on Saturday, February 7, 2026, after losing the opening two matches at Qingdao Conson Gymnasium, China, where Korean players dominated both singles and doubles encounters.

The setback began in the opening match when Indonesian women’s singles player Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan was outplayed by world No. 17 Kim Ga-eun. Thalita lost in straight games 5-21, 4-21 in just 22 minutes, giving South Korea a 1-0 lead, Antara reported.

Kim, who was fielded as part of Korea’s strongest lineup despite the absence of An Se-young, controlled the match from the start with precise attacks and sustained pressure. Thalita, ranked 67th in the world, struggled to escape defensive situations and committed several unforced errors throughout the match.

Indonesia’s position worsened in the second match when women’s doubles pair Rachel Allessya Rose/Febi Setianingrum failed to secure a point against Baek Ha-na/Kim Hye-jeong. The Indonesian pair lost 14-21, 10-21, allowing Korea South to extend its advantage to 2-0.

Although Baek/Kim are not regular partners, they played solidly and capitalized on mistakes from Rachel/Febi, who were unable to maintain momentum despite briefly leveling the score in the first game.

With two early defeats, Indonesia faced a must-win situation in the remaining matches to keep its hopes of reaching the final alive. At the time of reporting, Indonesia’s second women’s singles player Ni Kadek Dhinda A. Pratiwi was still competing against Park Ga-eun.

Indonesia is also scheduled to field women’s doubles pair Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti against Lee Seo Jin/Lee Yeon Woo, followed by Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo against Kim Min Ji in the final match of the tie. ***