Kuala Lumpur: Indonesia’s World No. 5 Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto clinched their third title of the year on Sunday when they defeated compatriots Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan 21-12, 21-19 in the final of Malaysia Masters.
Alfian/Ardianto got off to a comfortable first game to win 21-12. Setiawan/Ahsan had a chance to force a rubber game when they led 10-8, 15-12 in the second game, but at 19-19, Alfian/Ardianto stayed calm to reel off two consecutive points and clinch the Malaysia Masters title.
Before winning the Malaysia Masters, the World No. 5 pair had won the 2022 Swiss Open (BWF Super 300) and Indonesia Masters (BWF Super 500).
“We were very inconsistent before, but we have improved a lot this year. Nevertheless, we can’t be satisfied with our performance, we’ll need to maintain our consistency,” said Ardianto.
“Our main goal this year is to do well at the World Championships in Tokyo this coming August,” said Alfian.
This was Alfian/Ardianto’s second Malaysia Masters title after winning at the same tournament in 2018.
In addition to men’s doubles, the Indonesian team also celebrated victory in the men’s singles when World No. 45 Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo defeated World No. 13 Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong 22-20, 21-15 in the final.
“For the people of Indonesia, especially Papua, thank you for your prayer and support. Hopefully, my achievement could become a motivation and inspiration for children there,” said Wardoyo.
In women’s singles, An Se Young of Korea defeated the Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei of China 21-17, 21-5 to claim her fifth title in the last eight months.
Despite the disappointment in women’s singles, China’s women’s doubles No. 1 seeds Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan put on a dominant display to beat the No. 6 seeds Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida of Japan 21-11, 21-12 in the final. This was the fourth title for Chen/Jia in 2022.
Meanwhile, World No. 1 mixed doubles pair Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong of China ran off with their incredible winning streak of 30 matches by beating Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari of Indonesia 21-17, 21-12.
The Malaysia Masters was Zheng/Huang’s 6th straight title in 2022 since winning the Asia Badminton Championships, Thailand Open, Indonesia Open, Indonesia Masters, and Malaysia Open.
