JAKARTA - The mixed doubles team of Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu and Amri Syahnawi/Nita Violina Marwah managed to secure a ticket to the second round of the 2026 Badminton Asia Championship (BAC).
Jafar/Felisha, who are seeded seventh in the tournament, passed their first test against Chan Yin Chak/Ng Tsz Yau (Hong Kong) in a three-game match 21-9, 15-21, and 21-15 on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, afternoon WIB.
"Overall there were no problems, the game was quite enjoyable, it was just a bit sloppy in the second game. It was a bit slack and too relaxed," said Jafar in a statement received.
Jafar/Felisha managed to make a long journey last year in the same tournament. At that time, they managed to reach the semifinals before losing to Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito from Japan.
Felisha said that they still have so much homework to do to be able to repeat the same achievement or at least improve it in this year's edition.
"There must be pressure because last year our results were quite good here. The challenge is how to repeat that result," said the 20-year-old Jakarta-born badminton player.
Amri/Nita also had to undergo a fierce three-game match to get through the first round. They were forced to rise from the first game's gap to bury the dreams of the Japanese representative, Akira Koga/Natsu Saito.
In the second round, their test was much more difficult because they met the first-seeded Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping. The Chinese host pair sent Pakkapon Teeraratsakul/Sapsiree Taerattanachai from Thailand home.
Meanwhile, Jafar/Felisha have not yet found out who their opponents in the second round. They will wait for the winner of Hoo Pang Ron/Cheng Su Yin (Malaysia) and Kim Jae-hyeon/Jang Ha-jeong (South Korea) who will play on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
The Indonesian mixed doubles actually had four representatives at the BAC this year, but the other two lost immediately. They are Bobby Setiabudi/Melati Daeva Oktavianti and Adnan Maulana/Indah Cahya Sari Jamil.
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