Waiting For Podium Bagas/Leo And Fikri/Daniel

JAKARTA Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Daniel Martin will play their first tournament at the Japan Open 2024 next week in a new position.

In the previous composition, Bagas was paired with Fikri, while Leo partnered with Daniel. However, they were rotated by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) in July 2024 on the grounds of refreshment.

Fikri hopes that this reshuffle can improve their achievements. He has not been on the podium for a long time since winning the All England 2022 when he was still paired with Bagas.

"We haven't had good results for a long time. We rarely get on the podium so with this shell, who knows we can get on the podium again. Let's be more enthusiastic," said Fikri.

The current composition will be given the opportunity to try out the next four tournaments starting from the Japan Open 2024. Three other tournaments after that are the Korea Open, Hong Kong Open, and China Open.

Fikri said that the rotation was not a problem for them. You see, they have often changed partners during training at the PBSI Cipayung training camp (Pelatnas).

"We will try to be better than before. There are four tournaments. So, we just try and later see the results in these four tournaments," he said.

At the 2024 Japan Open, Fikri/Daniel will face the Chinese Taipei pair,manfaatn Chien Wei/Wu Hsuan Yi. This will be their first competitive clash.

Fikri is optimistic about this first challenge and wants to go as far as possible with his new partner.

"There must be opportunities. We are sure we can. Indeed, there are many new couples too, but we must always be ready to fight anyone and should not be careless and keep trying," said Fikri.

In total, Indonesia has five men's doubles at the Japan Open 2024. Apart from Fikri/Daniel, four other couples are Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, and Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh Reza Pahlevi.