RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia's challenge in the doubles events at the 2026 China Open, a prestigious BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament, came to an end after two pairs were eliminated in the round of 16, on Thursday, July 23, 2026, highlighting areas to improve before the next stop on the international circuit.

Sixth-seeded men's doubles pair Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani lost to England's Ben Lane/Sean Vendy 18-21, 12-21, while mixed doubles pair Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja fell to Denmark's third-seeded Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Bøje 8-21, 14-21 in Changzhou, China.

Sabar admitted the English pair controlled the match more effectively, particularly in handling the windy conditions. "Today they played much safer and controlled the match better," Sabar said in a statement released by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) on Thursday, July 23.

"They were also quicker at playing downward shots in front of the net. With the windy conditions, they managed the shuttle very well whether they were playing with or against the wind," he explained.

The defeat extended Sabar/Reza's losing streak against Lane/Vendy to five meetings. "We're very curious because we still haven't been able to beat them after five meetings. We'll keep trying in the future," Sabar added.

Reza acknowledged that they have yet to find the right tactical approach against the English duo. "We still haven't found the right pattern to play against them. Their style is very safe and feels different from other opponents, but we'll keep working on it," he said.

In the mixed doubles event, Rehan said the Danish pair entered the match in excellent form and played with confidence, while the Indonesian pair struggled to remain composed.

"Our opponents have been in very good form recently and were very confident with everything they played. Meanwhile, we weren't calm enough and became too rushed," Rehan said.

He explained that they attempted to adjust their strategy midway through the second game by maximizing their serving advantage but failed to maintain momentum after committing unforced errors.

Gloria added that the actual court conditions differed from what they had anticipated before the match.

"What we expected turned out to be different, especially regarding the windy conditions. That's a non-technical factor we need to improve before next week's Taipei Open," Gloria said. ***