French Open 2023: Bagas/Fikri And Praveen/Melati To The Second Round

The pair Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri stepped into the last 16 of the French Open 2023. (Photo: Twitter/@INABadminton)

JAKARTA Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri's men's doubles qualified for the second round of the French Open 2023. The 2022 All England champions made a comeback when they beat Japanese pair Keiichiro Matsui/Yoshinori Takeuchi.

They won rubber games 16-21, 21-11, and 21-10, Wednesday, October 25, 2023.

"In the first game, we admitted that because we didn't have time to try out yesterday's match field, we were a bit surprised by the situation. In addition, the shuttlecock character is also different. The adaptation is not good and not fast," said Fikri after the match.

Bagas/Fikri are the fourth men's doubles to qualify for the second round of this Super 750 BWF level event.

Before them, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto had already obtained tickets, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, and Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin.

Apart from Bagas/Fikri, the mixed doubles pair Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti also added tickets for the second half for Indonesia.

The All England 2020 pair extended their dominance of winning over the Thai pair, Supak Jomkoh/Supissara Paewsampran to 3-0.

"We are grateful to be in the last 16 after the previous two tournaments, our Arctic Open and Denmark Open lost in the first round," Praveen said after the match.

Prior to the victory at the French Open, Praveen/Melati had won twice over this pair in 2021, respectively at the Hylo Open and Thailand Open.