BWF Tournament Series and the Progress of Indonesian Badminton Players

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – World badminton players, from elite players to young players, face a busy schedule every year in the BWF World Tour tournament calendar. This tournament is divided into five levels, namely Super 100, Super 300, Super 500, Super 750 and Super 1000.

Indonesia itself is hosting several prestigious tournaments, including the Indonesia Masters at Super 500 level which will be held at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, in January 2025. This tournament was first held in 2014 and features the Chinese mixed doubles pair, Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong , as the winner of the most titles with five wins.

Indonesian men’s doubles, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, are in second place with four titles, followed by men’s singles Anthony Sinisuka Ginting who won two titles. In the 2024 edition, the pair Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin will be the only champions from Indonesia in front of the public.

The Indonesia Masters 2025 tournament is scheduled to take place on January 21-26, as well as being a farewell event for the legendary pair Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan.

Other Tournaments in Indonesia
Apart from the Indonesia Masters Super 500, there are two Super 100 tournaments taking place in Pekanbaru and Surabaya, respectively entitled Indonesia Masters I and Indonesia Masters II. In 2024, Indonesian athletes will achieve brilliant achievements, with three titles in Pekanbaru and four titles in Surabaya.

Apart from that, Istora Senayan also hosts the Indonesia Open, one of the Super 1000 tournaments that has been held since 1982. This tournament not only offers big points for players but also significant prizes. Several big names in Indonesian badminton, such as Taufik Hidayat, Ardy Wiranata, and Susi Susanti, made history as the most champions in this event.

Indonesia’s Achievements on the International Stage
Indonesia also has a long history at the All England, the oldest badminton tournament which started in 1899. Rudy Hartono has become an icon with a collection of eight titles in the men’s singles sector. Indonesia’s achievements at the All England will continue until 2024, including the final among Indonesian players in the men’s singles sector between Jonatan Christie and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

The Super 750 Tournament is also an arena for fierce competition, with six prestigious tournaments such as the China Masters, Denmark Open and Singapore Open. The Super 300 level, consisting of 12 tournaments, completes the BWF World Tour calendar, which ends with the World Tour Finals in December.

BWF World Tour Finals
This final tournament is only attended by eight players or pairs with the highest points in each sector. Since it was first held in 2018, Indonesia has always succeeded in sending its representatives.

One of the best achievements occurred in the 2019 edition in Guangzhou, where Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, or known as The Daddies, became champions, the only Indonesian representatives in the tournament.

In 2021, Indonesia will also host the World Tour Finals which will take place in Nusa Dua, Bali, amidst the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. This success shows Indonesia’s commitment to supporting the development of badminton on the world stage.

At the 2024 BWF World Finals, Indonesia’s mainstay in the men’s singles event, Jonatan Christie, advanced to the semifinals after occupying group B in the preliminary round. However, the player who is familiarly called Jojo failed to advance to the final because he was defeated by Anders Ntonsen in the semifinals. Shi Yu Qi from China became the men’s singles champion after beating Anders Antonsen in the final match.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s representative in the women’s singles event, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, could only compete in the preliminary round. He failed to advance to the semifinals after only finishing third in the group stage which also consisted of Aya Ohori, Wang Zhi Yi, and Busanan Ongbamrungpham. Wang Zhi Yi finally became champion after defeating his Chinese compatriot Han Yue in the final.

In the men’s doubles event, Indonesia qualified two representatives, namely Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh Reza Pahlevi Isafahani.

These two pairs advanced to the semifinals after finishing as champions and runners-up in Group B. However, these two pairs failed to advance to the final round. Fajar/Rian lost to Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin from Naoaysia in the semifinals, while Sabar/Reza lost when facing the Danish representatives, Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, who later became champions.

In the women’s doubles number, Indonesia passed Febrina Dwipuji Kusuma/Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi. However, they failed to advance to the next round after only sitting in third place in Group B.

Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles number, Indonesia also sent representatives, namely Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja. However, they also failed to qualify for the next round because they only finished third in group B.