Verrell/Bernadine Advance to Round of 16 at Pontianak International Challenge

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesian mixed doubles pair Verrell Yustin Mulia/Bernadine Anindya Wardana opened their campaign at the Polytron Pontianak International Challenge 2026 with a victory. They defeated Chinese Taipei's Ming Che Lu/Chou Yu An 17-21, 21-8, 21-10 in a rubber game.

The Round of 32 match took place at the integrated sports hall GOR Terpadu, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Thursday, August 27, 2026. The tournament is Verrell/Bernadine 's second tournament together.

“Thank God, I am grateful that we were able to play without injury and were given the victory. The opponent was not easy, Ming Chen Lu has good quality,” Verrell said after the match.

He said that after losing the first game, he and Bernadine strengthened their focus and intensity during the match. They also tried to implement the game plan they had prepared.

“After losing the first game, we tried to strengthen our focus and increase our intensity on the court, making sure we did not lose the intensity against them. We also tried to implement the game plan we had prepared,” he said.

Playing in their second tournament together, Verrell said there were still many aspects to evaluate. The main areas were strengthening their game pattern and improving their defense.

“This is our second tournament and of course we want to be better. The evaluation from the first tournament was mainly about strengthening our game pattern and improving our defense,” he explained.

Bernadine, meanwhile, said she was still surprised by the atmosphere on court. She and her partner were still trying to adapt and assess the court conditions.

“Today, I was still surprised by the atmosphere on court because this was our first match. We are still adapting and still getting a feel for it. But overall, there were no significant problems,” she said.

Next, Verrell/Bernadine will face their compatriots Dejan Ferdiansyah/Apriyani Rahayu. Bernadine said she and her partner would treat the meeting like a practice session.

“In the Round of 16, we will face Dejan/Apriyani, who are our seniors and more experienced. So, we want to treat it like a training session, like a sparring match,” she concluded. (Diffa Sephiawardhani)