Alwi Farhan Entered the Indonesian Thomas Cup Team

Thomas and Uber Cup squads announced by BWF. Indonesia is strengthened by the junior men's singles world champion, Alwi Farhan.

PP PBSI

Alwi Farhan has won the men's singles championship at the 2023 Junior World Badminton Championships. In the final match held at The Podium, Spokane, Washington, United States, on Sunday (8/10/2023), Alwi defeated Chinese player Hu Zhe An with a score of 21-19, 19-21, 21-14.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The Indonesian badminton team chose to include potential young players rather than more senior players whose performance was not developing in the team Thomas and Uber Cup. One of the athletes who will defend the "Red and White" in the men's and women's team championships is the world junior champion, Alwi Farhan.

Alwi, aged 18, was the men's singles world champion during the Junior World Championships held in Spokane, Washington, United States in 2023. He also represented Indonesia in the team championships at the same event and helped Indonesia reach the final.

Alwi also competed in the 2022 Junior World Championships where Indonesia won bronze. As for the 2023 Junior Asian Championships, he was part of the team that made it to the final. All team championships at the junior level, for athletes aged 18 and under, are played in mixed team format, with each team consisting of men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles.

Regarding at the senior level, Alwi is a member of the men's team for the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games that won a gold medal. Alwi did not have the opportunity to play due to being in the third singles position, while Indonesia always won 3-1 against Singapore in the semifinals and against Malaysia in the final.

HUMAS PP PBSI

Alwi Farhan contributed to Indonesia's victory against South Korea in the group stage of the Badminton Asian Team Championships in Selangor, Malaysia. At the Setia City Convention Centre on Thursday (15/2/2024), Alwi defeated Cho Geonyeop 21-13, 22-20, but Indonesia lost 2-3.

So, Alwi's presence at the Thomas and Uber Cup championships in Chengdu, China, 27 April-5 May will be his debut in this biennial event. Alwi, as stated on the official BWF website, on Tuesday (16/4/2024) joined three other men's singles, namely the All England champion and Asian champion, Jonatan Christie, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, and Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo. The men's doubles event will be led by the All England champion, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

In the women's team, Indonesia did not include the names of Putri Kusuma Wardani and Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi. To accompany Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, the registered names are Indonesia's third, fourth, and sixth single women, namely Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo, Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi, and Ruzana.

The performance of Putri, as the second-ranked women's singles player in Indonesia, can be considered stagnant in 2024. She has won five times and lost five times. All of her losses happened in two games. In five individual tournaments, Putri was eliminated three times in the first round and twice in the second round.

The women's doubles also kept the number two pair, namely Febriana/Amalia and chose to enter a younger pair, the Orleans Masters champions, namely Rachel Allessya Rose/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari. The first doubles was entrusted to Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, followed by Lanny Tria Mayasari/Ribka Sugiarto who won the Swiss Open in March.

Also read: Alwi Farhan, World Junior Men's Singles Champion

HUMAS PP PBSI

Meilysa Trias Puspitasari/Rachel Allessya Rose advanced to the main round of the Thailand Open after defeating the second-seeded American qualifiers, Srivedya Gurazada/Ishika Jaiswal, 21-7, 21-13, in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday (30/5/2023).

The women's team squad this time combines senior and young players, unlike the 2022 Uber Cup when Indonesia had to divide its strength because the event was held almost simultaneously with the 2021 Vietnam SEA Games. The multi-branch event for Southeast Asian countries was postponed for a year due to Covid-19.

At that time, senior players such as Gregoria and Apriyani/Fadia were actually chosen to compete in the SEA Games. Meanwhile, the Uber Cup team was strengthened by substitute players such as Komang, Bilqis Prasista, Lanny, and Jesita Putri Miantoro. Despite this, the young squad played quite well, reaching the quarterfinals before being stopped by China with a score of 0-3.

In the 2024 Thomas and Uber Cup, the men's team will compete against India, Thailand, and England in the Group C preliminaries. Meanwhile, the women's team will face Japan, Hong Kong, and Uganda, also in Group C.

This event was attended by 16 men's teams and 16 women's teams divided into four groups in the preliminary phase. With a round robin format, each participant competes for the top position in each group to qualify for the quarter-finals.

The issue of air pollution is not new. The community has long been threatened by the condition of air pollution. There is plenty of research evidence showing the threats of air pollution's impact. However, this has yet to contribute significantly to controlling air pollution. As a result, residents are becoming increasingly miserable living amidst air pollution. The Indonesian Thomas Cup team has made it to the final three times in the last four editions, winning the championship in 2020. However, in the 2022 edition, Anthony and his team were defeated by India in the final, leading to India becoming the first-ever champions of the Thomas Cup. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Uber Cup team has been knocked out in the quarter-finals of the last six championships since 2012.

Also read: Jonathan Christie's Positive Momentum Towards the Olympics

AP/TATAN SYUFLANA

Kento Momota (Japan) tried to hit the shuttlecock when facing Ng Ka Long Angus (Hong Kong) during the round of 32 matches of the Indonesia Open Tournament Group by Kapal Api Indonesia at Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, on Tuesday (13/6/2023). Momota lost with a score of 8-21, 15-21.

Kento Momota in Japan

On another team, former world men's singles number one, Kento Momota, is listed on the Japan Thomas Cup team. Momota will join Kodai Naraoka, Kenta Nishimoto, and Koki Watanabe.

Despite currently being the only Japanese male single badminton player ranked 51st in the world, Momota's experience can still be utilized effectively by his team. Moreover, Momota will be ranked as number three in Japan's male single category and will face opponents who have less experience than him on paper.

As for the women's team, there is the name Tomoka Miyazaki, a 17 year old women's single who is the 2022 junior world champion. The player who won the Orleans Masters and was a finalist in the Korea Masters was joined by her senior, namely Akane Yamaguchi, Aya Ohori, and Nozomi Okuhara.

The Chinese team, which is the top contender in the Thomas and Uber Cup, is strengthened by all of its best players. In the men's team, there are players ranked in the top ten in the world, namely Shi Yu Qi, Li Shi Feng, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang, and Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi. Meanwhile, the women's team relies on Chen Yu Fei, Wang Zhi Yi, and Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan.

Also read: Rinov/Pitha's Olympic Tickets

HUMAS PP PBSI

The second Indonesian single, Jonatan Christie, hit the shuttlecock while playing against Japanese player, Kenta Nishimoto, in the third match of the Thomas Cup semifinal between Indonesia and Japan at the Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday (13/5/2022). Jonatan was defeated by Nishimoto, 20-22, 13-21, and Japan narrowed the gap to 1-2.

Anthony Sinisuka Ginting

Jonathan Christie

Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo

Alwi Farhan

Dawn Alfian

Muhammad Rian Ardianto

Muhammad Shohibul Fikri

Bagas Maulana

Leo Rolly Carnando

Daniel Martin

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung

Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo

Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi

Ruzana

Apriyani Rahayu

Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti

Lanny Tria Mayasari

Rebekah Sugiarto

Rachel Alessya Rose

Melilysa Trias Puspitasari