Fajar/Fikri Keep Indonesia’s Men’s Doubles Hopes Alive at BWF Worlds

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia’s men’s doubles duo Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi, India, after defeating South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk/Ki Dong Ju in a three‑game battle on Thursday, August 20.

The second‑seeded pair prevailed 21‑15, 14‑21, 21‑12, recovering from a shaky second game to secure their place in the last eight, Antara reported.

“Alhamdulillah, I’m grateful everything went smoothly and that we won. It wasn’t easy against the Korean pair today; they played solidly, especially at the start,” Fajar said in a statement released by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI).

Fajar admitted they struggled to adapt to the windy court conditions, particularly in the second game. “Their start in the first and second games was very good, but fortunately we managed to turn things around in the opener," he said.

"In the second, we couldn’t recover because of the headwind. In the third, we didn’t want to fall behind again, so we played aggressively from the start,” he explained.

Fikri noted that Kang/Ki looked more composed than in their previous meeting. “They played safer and more neatly, with stronger pressure. We weren’t ready enough at the start of the second game and were late to adapt to the wind, which was quite noticeable on Court 3,” he said.

In the decider, Fajar/Fikri improved their start and seized the initiative in attack, maintaining control to close out the match 21‑12.

Despite the victory, Fajar acknowledged their performance was below par. “I feel today’s performance was still not good enough even though we won. Hopefully tomorrow we can play much better. For now, we’ll focus on recovery,” he concluded. ***