Malaysia Open 2024: Fajar/Rian Qualify For The Second Round

The couple Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Instagram/@fajanalfian95).

JAKARTA - Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto managed to get through the first round of the Malaysia Open 2024 after defeating the Canadian pair, Dong Adam (Xing Yu)/Nyl Yakura.

The pair, who are the defending champions in the Super 1000 event, secured tickets after winning easily two straight games 21-16 and 21-13 at the Axiata Arena, Tuesday, January 9, 2024.

In the second round, Fajar/Rian will meet Fang-Chih Lee/Fang-Jen Lee. The Chinese Taipei pair qualified for the second round after defeating India's representative, MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila.

Statistically, this will be a challenge that is not easy for Fajar/Rian. The reason is, in the previous two clashes, Indonesian representatives always lost.

The two defeats experienced last year were Madrid Spain Masters and the Hong Kong Open, respectively.

Fajar/Rian are the second representatives of Indonesia to reach their second round. Previously, the first ticket was secured by the mixed doubles Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Lisa Ayu Kusumawati.

Unfortunately, several Indonesian representatives have been confirmed to have to go home early. One of them is Jonatan Christie's mainstay men's singles who fell against Kidambi Srikanth.

Apart from Jonathan, the women's singles Kusuma Wardani also experienced failure. The daughter was confirmed to be lifting the suitcase after being beaten by the eighth seeded Chinese representative, Han Yue.

Then from the men's doubles, the representative who is confirmed to return is Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin. The pair was beaten by the fourth seeded Danish representative, Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.