JAKARTA - The men's doubles Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri presented the victory of the first round of the 2023 Swiss Open to the late Syabda Perkasa Belawa who was their friend at the PBSI Cipayung National Training Center.
"It was quite sad and didn't expect to get news of Syabda's passing so quickly. We try to always focus when we are on the field, and we also fight for victory for our late friend Syabda. Hopefully it can make him smile up there," Fikri said as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, March 22.
The world's 15th ranked pair admitted that they were hit and couldn't believe it if their compatriot died in his increasingly brilliant career.
"I was not focused because I didn't expect to lose my friend. But we had to force ourselves to stay focused, keep the spirit to go through the match," said Bagas.
Although they could not see firsthand the funeral procession of their colleague because they were still on a European tour, they still sent prayers to the deceased.
In the first round of the tournament in the BWF Super 300 category, Bagas/Fikri won early after eliminating the men's doubles from India Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnvardhan Goud Panjala.
The first meeting of the two pairs ended with an advantage for the Indonesian duo 21-16, 21-14.
"Alhamdulillah, the match went quite smoothly, and we were also given victory without any problems or injuries. Earlier, the key to victory was that we tried to focus on finding points by points and trying to reduce our own mistakes," Fikri said.
Bagas/Fikri are targeting to win at the Swiss Open, after last week failing to defend their title from the world's oldest badminton tournament, All England 2023.
"The target is to win, but the most important thing is hopefully to be able to show the best in every match," said Fikri.
Given their struggle in Basel, Switzerland, just started and the European tour still leaves two tournaments, Bagas/Fikri's duties also increase. They not only pursue the title, but at the same time have to keep the body in shape to stay in shape.
"We here must really maintain physical condition and stamina, because it has entered the second week of the tournament," concluded Bagas.
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