Indonesian mixed doubles badminton pair Faza Iwadh Kurnia Ramdhan/Rachel Machalul Cahya Ayu advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior International Grand Prix 2026 after defeating Malaysian representatives Khairul Azlan Khashah/Min Yi Teoh.
Competing at PB Jaya Raya, Bintaro, South Tangerang, Friday, Faza/Rachel won relatively easily in two straight games over the Malaysian representatives 21-11, 21-17.
"Thank God, the match went smoothly and according to my previous plan. There were some non-technical issues, but we managed to overcome them," said Faza in an official statement received on Friday.
Meanwhile, Rachel admitted that she had quite a bit of difficulty anticipating the fast-paced ball playing pattern displayed by the Malaysian pair.
However, the smooth running of the defensive scheme enabled Rachel to appear to block the opponent's chances, "The opponent's advantage was that they had fast balls which were quite difficult," said Rachel.
Faza, who had not been paired with Rachel in the last few months, admitted that he had found chemistry again on the field.
"We've been paired since 2024, but we were separated for a while, and now we're paired again. Our goal is to play our best first," said Faza.
