RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesian badminton men's doubles pair Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 China Open after defeating Japan's Takumi Nomura/Yuichi Shimogami in straight games, 21-19, 21-11.

The match lasted 33 minutes on Court 1 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou, China, on Thursday, July 23, 2026, marking the first meeting between the two pairs.

"First of all, thank God for today's victory," Fajar Alfian said after the match on Thursday, July 23, revealing that the conditions on Court 1 were very different from those on Court 2 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. "The wind direction here was really strong," he said.

Captain of Indonesian 2026 Thomas Cup-winning team Fajar explained that the wind played a decisive role throughout the match. He and Fikri constantly had to adjust their tactics to suit the court conditions.

"Our strategy was to keep the shuttle low, but we became too cautious at times, making it difficult to gain an advantage. In the second game, we were playing against the wind, so we changed our approach by using longer rallies, which helped us control the match," he explained.

Muhammad Shohibul Fikri concurred, saying that they focused on long rallies during the opening game. "We tried to read our opponents' movements and the shuttle's direction so we could execute our shots well," Fikri said.

Fajar/Fikri will next face South Korea's Kang Min Hyuk/Ki Dong Ju in the quarterfinals. "Hopefully we can perform even better tomorrow," Fajar concluded. (Diffa Sephiawardhani)