JAKARTA - Putri Kusuma Wardani qualified for the 2026 Malaysia Open quarter finals and will face Wang Zhiyi, a Chinese women's singles badminton player who has never lost to her before.
The daughter, who is the sixth seed in the BWF Super 1000 tournament, got an eight-person ticket by defeating Zhang Beiwen (United States) in a three-game duel 5-21, 21-16, and 21-18 on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
"For the whole game, I am not satisfied enough and I am grateful to be able to win the match," said the Tangerang-born badminton player in a statement received.
After suffering a crushing defeat in the first game, the princess bounced back well in the second and third games. He dominated both games even though he was behind early in the second game and got a tight fight at the beginning of the third game.
This victory also erased the bad record of the Princess who had never won against Zhang in two competitive matches, all of which took place in 2023 at the Thailand Masters and Taipei Open.
"In the first game, I couldn't get out of the pressure because he could perform all out with experience and strength in his hands which was very difficult. The key was in the second game when I managed to play long-long," said Putri.
Furthermore, facing Wang Zhiyi in the quarterfinal will be the toughest test for the Princess. This is because he has a bad record in the previous six competitive clashes.
Although he has never won at all against the world's second-ranked shuttler, Putri can at least force him to play three games in the latest two clashes, back-to-back at the 2025 Asian Championships and Japan Open.
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