JAKARTA - Men's singles badminton player Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah and men's doubles specialist Nikolaus Joaquin are very excited to show off and feel the atmosphere of Istora Senayan which will host the 2026 Daihatsu Indonesia Masters badminton event.
The BWF Super 500 level tournament will take place on January 20-25, 2026 at Istora Senayan, Jakarta. This will be the first experience for both athletes to perform in one of Indonesia's historic arenas.
Ubed, a nickname for Ubaidillah, said that being able to get the opportunity to play at home certainly gave a very different feeling for him.
"This is the first time I have played at Istora. So, of course I am very excited to give the best performance. Yes, of course I want to show the best game in front of the public myself," said the athlete from PB Djarum.
The Indonesia Masters 2026 is the fourth BWF Super 500 tournament that Ubed has participated in. He appeared at that level three times last year, but his journey always ended less than satisfactory.
In a row, the three BWF Super 500 tournaments he participated in last year were the Hong Kong Open, Korea Open, and Kumamoto Masters. He immediately went home in the qualifying round for the first two tournaments and then entered the main draw in Kumamoto, but immediately lost in the first round.
The winner of the 2025 Asian Junior Championship will start his fight in Indonesia this year from the qualifying round. He started his journey by facing the first seed from India, Kiran George.
"If you look at my age now, of course there is a burden because there are many seniors, but I don't want to lose. In addition, this makes me learn to be more from seniors," said Ubed.
Playing in front of his own public will also be a motivation for Nikolaus. The 2025 Australian Open title winner has prepared himself well with Raymond Indra to be able to give his best.
He admitted that he couldn't wait to play at home, which has always been his dream, although the pressure on his shoulders must be heavy because he and Raymond can win the 2025 BWF Super 500 Australia Open.
"There must be a burden, but how we have to face it. If it's from me and Raymond, we're more into mindset. Yesterday we won the Australian Open, but we think it's over and now we have to start from scratch," he said.
Raymond/Nikolaus will start their journey at the 2026 Indonesia Masters by facing the French pair, Eloi Adam/Leo Rossi. They are in a tough draw path because they are in the lower half of the chart with three other Indonesian representatives.
If they can get to the quarterfinals, Raymond/Nikolaus will likely face Leo Rolly Carnando/Bagas Maulana or Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. If they can get to the semifinals, they will likely meet Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.
"If you look at the draw, you are a little surprised because all the men's doubles are in the lower bracket, but hopefully with such a draw we can go far," said Nikolaus.
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