Fajar/Fikri Become Indonesia's Last Hope at the 2026 China Open

Indonesia's remaining hopes at the 2026 China Open now rest solely on men's doubles pair Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. As three other Indonesian representatives crashed out in the quarter-finals, Fajar/Fikri successfully advanced to the semi-finals, where they will face home favourites Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou this Saturday.

Fajar/Fikri sealed their semi-final berth after defeating South Korean pair Kang Min Hyuk/Ki Dong Ju in straight games 21-15, 21-13 during the Friday quarter-final fixture.

This victory extends the consistent form of the 2025 China Open defending champions, while also keeping Indonesia's chances alive of lifting the title at this Super 1000 tier tournament.

Despite holding a favourable head-to-head record against Liang/Wang with four wins from their last five encounters, Fikri emphasized the semi-final clash will not be straightforward as they take on the host nation's pair.

"Facing a home side is never easy, and they are also an extremely high calibre pair," stated Fikri in an official PBSI release.

He added that both he and Fajar must prepare themselves as thoroughly as possible.

"We have faced each other many times. What is certain is we need to be ready for tomorrow, and we will carry out proper recovery tonight," he added.

Meanwhile, Jonatan Christie's campaign ended at the quarter-final stage. Indonesia's men's singles shuttler once again failed to stop Canada's Victor Lai, falling in straight games 14-21, 17-21 after a 46-minute contest.

This marks Jonatan's second consecutive defeat to Victor Lai, following his prior loss against the same opponent in the 2026 Indonesia Open final.

Jonatan explained he had managed to establish an effective game pattern, but could not sustain it.

"I feel I gave everything I had. There were moments where my game plan was working correctly, but momentum shifted and he spotted those gaps. When I dropped my focus even slightly, he ramped up the match pace which forced me back into playing on his terms. Things were going well, but just one break in rhythm was all it took for him to exploit the opening," said Jonatan.

Indonesian women's singles player Putri Kusuma Wardani suffered the same exit. The sixth seed missed out on a semi-final spot after being beaten by Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki in a three-game battle that finished 21-16, 11-21, 9-21.

After dominating the opening game, Putri struggled to escape her opponent's pressure across the next two games, particularly when playing against the court wind direction.

"Tomoka barely changed her playing style at all, the wind conditions ended up being the big decider. Right from the start of the third game she kept constant pressure on, and I just could not find a way out. She played much more freely, while I kept struggling with overlong shots and inconsistent net play," explained Putri in the official PBSI statement.

In the women's doubles sector, Rachel Allessya Rose/Febi Setianingrum also brought their campaign to a close, defeated 18-21, 18-21 by China's eighth seeds Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min.

"We were pinned on the defensive for most of the match. Too many of our returns were half-hearted, which made it very easy for them to attack us," said Febi.

Rachel revealed they actually had an opening to capitalise on the wind conditions during the first game, but consistent pressure from the Chinese pair prevented their strategy from being executed as planned.

"In the first game they were playing against the wind, but their attacking pressure was still very strong even then, that was our chance to take the advantage. Once we switched sides for the second game, their intensity only increased and it became very difficult for us to return shots cleanly," said Rachel.