Indonesia’s Women’s Doubles Show Tactical Maturity in World Championship Win

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesia’s women’s doubles pair Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari demonstrated growing tactical maturity as they battled past Malaysia’s fifth seeds Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan in the round of 16 at the BWF World Championships 2026 in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, August 20, 2026.

Seeded 13th, Ana/Trias secured their quarterfinal berth with a hard-fought three-game victory, 20–22, 21–18, 21–12. The turning point came when they adjusted their playing style mid-match.

“We had prepared a specific game plan for the court conditions. Initially we tried a no-lob approach, but it wasn’t working, so when we fell behind, we decided to change our pattern,” Ana explained in a statement released by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), as quoted by Antara.

Although the adjustment did not prevent them from losing the opening game, it gave them confidence to dominate the next two. “In the second and third games we were more assured of our strategy and understood better what needed to be done on court,” Ana added.

Trias acknowledged the challenge of facing a world-class pair, even if Pearly/Thinaah were not at their peak form. “They may not be back to their best yet, but their quality as a top pair is unquestionable. Today’s match was still very tough for us,” she said.

Looking ahead, Ana/Trias are determined to stay focused without being distracted by the prospect of securing a medal with one more win. “We must stay focused on preparing for the next match and studying our opponents’ game. There’s no need to dwell on the fact that this is a quarterfinal or that one more win would secure a medal,” Ana said. ***