RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesian women's doubles shuttlers Rachel Allessya Rose/Febi Setianingrum secured a confidence-boosting victory at the 2026 China Open by defeating second seeds Jia Yi Fan/Zhang Shu Xian of China, a result that highlighted the progress of the country's emerging badminton talents on the BWF World Tour.

The Indonesian duo claimed a straight-games victory, 24-22, 21-17, in the opening round on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, avenging two previous defeats against the Chinese pair earlier this season.

The victory marked a significant breakthrough for Rachel/Febi, who entered the match determined to apply lessons from their earlier losses. They had previously fallen to Jia/Zhang in the semifinals of the 2026 Australian Open (16-21, 22-20, 16-21) and again in the second round of the 2026 Japan Open (11-21, 21-19, 14-21).

"We learned from those two defeats, so from the beginning we tried to raise our intensity and focus on attacking first," Febi said in an official statement released by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) on Wednesday, July 22, as quoted by Antara.

Rachel/Febi displayed aggressive play from the opening exchanges despite strong resistance in the first game. They remained composed during crucial points to edge the opener 24-22.

The Indonesian pair maintained their momentum in the second game while adapting well to the windy court conditions, closing out the match 21-17. "We were able to take advantage of the windy conditions. We already knew how to play whether we were with or against the wind. Thankfully, everything worked well today," Rachel said.

Rachel added that defeating the tournament's second seeds had been the team's primary objective, set together with coach Karel Mainaky. "Our initial target, along with coach Karel, was to win this match, and we achieved it. Now we'll focus on the next matches one at a time. Hopefully, we can achieve the best possible result," she said.

Despite the notable victory, Febi stressed that improvements were still needed, particularly in reducing unforced errors in the next round. "For tomorrow, we still need to reduce our own mistakes," Febi said.

Rachel/Febi will next face the United States pair Lauren Lam/Allison Quynh Lee, who defeated Taiwan's Ya Ching Hsu/Yu-Hsuan Sung 21-16, 7-21, 21-8. ***