JAKARTA - Indonesia's current mainstay mixed doubles, Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu, has set a target to enter the top five BWF rankings by the end of the year.
Felisha said that the target was their biggest goal in the calendar this year after undergoing a inconsistent season last year.
"If my target with Jafar this year, if in terms of ranking, we both want to finish in the top five by the end of the year," said Felisha in a press conference held in Jakarta.
Last year, Jafar/Felisha managed to secure one title in the BWF Tour calendar and one runner-up. The title was won at the Taipei Open, while the runner-up was achieved at the Australian Open in November.
In addition, they also crashed out in the semifinals three times, consecutively at the Thailand Masters, Asian Badminton Championships, and China Open. They also got a bronze medal at the SEA Games.
Despite having a not very stable journey, Jafar/Felisha also managed to penetrate the closing tournament of the World Tour Finals season. Unfortunately, they only secured one victory in the group stage so they failed to advance to the semifinals.
"If I flashback again to the journey in 2025, it's not an easy journey for me with Jafar. It's not satisfying, it's not bad. It's in the middle," said Felisha.
Jafar/Felisha will take part in the 2026 Daihatsu Indonesia Masters which will take place this week. They came down with the status as the sixth seed and started the fight against the pair from the qualifiers.
Felisha hopes that he and Jafar can give their best when playing in front of their own public after previously failing to pass the first round at the Malaysia Open on January 6-11, 2026.
"Of course it is not an easy fight for us to pass. I hope that whatever the draw is, I can stay focused on the original goal and get the best result for Indonesia," he said.
The Indonesia Masters 2026 will take place on January 20-25 at Istora Senayan, Jakarta. Indonesia will send 25 representatives plus Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja who will play with the Singaporean pair.
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