Indonesian men's doubles badminton players Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri believe their performance at the 2026 Japan Open has improved.
In the round of 16 match which took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Thursday, Fajar/Fikri defeated the Chinese Taipei doubles pair Lee Fang-Chih/Lee Fang-Jen in two straight games with an identical score of 21-14, 21-14.
"I'm quite pleased because today's performance was much better than yesterday's. We were able to implement a very good forward play, keeping them from getting out of the pressure," Fikri said.
Meanwhile, Fajar said that this victory was thanks to much more mature preparation carried out by reading the opponent's playing pattern and preparing strategies to anticipate it.
"We've met this Chinese Taipei pair many times; they have a very solid rotation and excellent defense. So we tried to play slowly," Fajar added.
In the quarterfinals, the second seed of the BWF Super 750 tournament will meet the British pair Ben Lane/Sean Vendy.
"We want to win against Ben Lane/Sean Vendy tomorrow. We have to prepare a strategy and discuss with our coach how to counter them in these court conditions," Fajar explained regarding his strategy for the upcoming match.
