China Open 2026: Rachel/Febi Pull Off a Surprise Upset, Alwi Farhan Fails to Qualify for the Round of 16

Indonesian women's doubles pair Rachel Allessya Rose/Febi Setianingrum eliminated the host nation's second seeds Jia Yi Fan/Zhang Shu Xian on the opening day of the BWF World Tour Super 1000 China Open 2026. Meanwhile, Indonesian men's singles shuttler Alwi Farhan was outclassed by Indian representative Ayush Shetty.

Competing at Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre, Changzhou, China on Wednesday 22 July, Rachel/Febi secured a straight-games victory with scores 24-22, 21-17 over Jia Yi Fan/Zhang Shu Xian.

This win also marked revenge for the Red and White pair. In their two previous meetings at the 2026 Australian Open semi-finals and 2026 Japan Open second round, Rachel/Febi had suffered defeat on both occasions.

Febi explained that the squad prepared differently this time after analysing their two prior losses.

"We learned from those two earlier defeats, so right from the start today we tried to immediately raise the match intensity and focus on taking the attacking initiative first," Febi stated in an official PBSI release.

The contest was tightly contested from the very first game. Rachel/Febi eventually wrapped up the opening game 24-22.

Entering the second game, the Indonesian pair maintained consistent pressure. They closed out the full match with a 21-17 game win.

Rachel cited their ability to read on-court conditions as one of the critical factors behind the victory.

"We were able to work with the windy court conditions. We already understood how to adjust our play both when playing against and with the wind direction. Thank God everything went smoothly for us today," Rachel commented.

Despite pulling off this major upset, Febi reminded that improvements still need to be made ahead of the next round.

"For the upcoming match tomorrow, we still have to reduce our own unforced errors," Febi added.

In the Round of 16, Rachel/Febi will face United States pair Lauren Lam/Allison Quynh Lee, who previously defeated Taiwan's Ya Ching Hsu/Yu-Hsuan Sung with scores 21-16, 7-21, 21-8.

Elsewhere, men's singles shuttler Alwi Farhan saw his tournament run end after a three-game defeat to Ayush Shetty by scores 17-21, 21-5, 17-21.

In the first game, Alwi trailed 10-14 before eventually conceding the game 17-21. He bounced back strongly in the second game, with aggressive attacking play preventing Ayush from establishing his rhythm, allowing Alwi to take the second game convincingly 21-5.

However Alwi could not carry this momentum into the deciding game. Ayush built rallies with greater patience, holding a 10-8 lead at the mid-game interval before securing the final game 21-17.

This defeat means Alwi once again failed to progress deep into the Asian tour swing. Previously, his run was halted at the 2026 Japan Open quarter-finals after losing to Japan's Kodai Naraoka 18-21, 22-20, 18-21.