Fajar/Rian Win "Civil War" Against Bagas/Fikri To Win The Final Ticket For The Korea Open 2022

JAKARTA – Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto ensured that Indonesia will have two representatives in the final of the 2022 Korea Open after their victory over their compatriots Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri on Saturday, April 9.

The fourth seed got the final ticket thanks to a 21-12 and 21-9 straight sets victory over their juniors. This is the second consecutive final for Fajar/Rian after they previously won the Swiss Open on 27 March.

Fajar/Rian's victory also ensured that as many as two Indonesian representatives made it to the final from the five representatives who fought in the semifinals.

Previously, Indonesia had obtained a final ticket through the men's singles, Jonatan Christie, who decided the dream of India's representative, Kidambi Srikanth.

Interestingly, the final in Korea was also the second final in a row for Jonathan. The owner of the Asian Games gold medal previously also won in Switzerland.

At the Swiss Open two weeks ago, the two Indonesian representatives both ended their title drought after more than two years of not being on the podium. At that time, Fajar/Rian got the title of age beating Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzudin, while Jojo, Jonatan's nickname, beat Prannoy HS from India.

Apart from Bagas/Fikri, two other Indonesian representatives who failed to make it to the final were the veteran pair Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan and the mixed doubles pair Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari.

Hendra/Ahsan could not make it to the final match after losing to the host pair, Kang Minhyuk/Seo Seung Jae. Meanwhile, Rinov/Pitha were stopped by representatives of Malaysia, Tan Kiang Meng/Lai Pei Jing.