All England 2026: Alwi Loses, Indonesian Men's Singles Ludes
JAKARTA - The Indonesian men's singles at the 2026 All England are certain to be eliminated after Alwi Farhan as the last hope was eliminated after losing to second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a two-game direct match in the quarterfinal.
Alwi, who is the 2023 junior world champion, actually led at the beginning of the first game, but was eventually forced to surrender with a final score of 17-21 and 12-21 after playing for 61 minutes at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, England, on Friday, March 6, 2026.
"Actually, from the beginning of the first game it was right, but from the start of the first interval, Kunlavut changed the pattern and I was less able to anticipate faster. That was my mistake," said Alwi after the match, quoted from PBSI's statement.
The result obtained by Alwi makes the Indonesian men's singles hope to get a title from the world's oldest tournament automatically disappear. Previously, fourth seed Jonatan Christie had already picked up his suitcase from the tournament.
In addition, this defeat worsened Alwi's record of meeting the world number one shuttler. From a total of four clashes, he has never won. All three other losses previously occurred last year at the French Open, World Championships, and China Open.
"Kunlavut is a tenacious player, not easy to die, a strong player. That's his capital to be able to reach the level he is now. I try to fight from there, but I think I'm a little bit out of shape in terms of his punches," said Alwi.
The 2026 All England is the fourth tournament that Alwi has played in this year's calendar. He previously lost in the first round of the Malaysia Open, then managed to win the Indonesia Masters, and became a semifinalist at the Thailand Masters.
In All England 2026, Alwi's journey to reach the quarter finals is also worth appreciating because he managed to beat seventh seed Chou Tien Chen in a two-game match in the second round.
"The positive thing I can take from this first All England is my hard training, the preparation during the journey here shows that there is enough progress, especially that I have started to be able to compete with Chou Tien Chen," said Alwi.
Alwi is then scheduled to appear at the BWF Super 300 Swiss Open 2026 next week. From the men's singles, he will compete with Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah and also Anthony Sinisuka Ginting who will start their journey from the first round.