Jakarta: Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia are ready to defend their title in the upcoming 2024 All-England Open (March 12-17) in Birmingham. Whilst they understand it won’t be easy, they hope to keep that All-England title by all means.
Alfian and Rian had defeated their fellow teammates Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan 21-17, 21-14 to champion the 2023 All-England Open. And during an announcement given at the PBSI Training Center in Jakarta on Wednesday, Alfian mentioned that he and his partner were placing a heavy emphasis on earning qualification points for the Olympics in Paris. He emphasized the three major tournaments to achieve this would be the All-England Open, French Open, and the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in March and April.
“Both Rian and I have had a longer preparation compared to others, as we did not participate in the Thailand Masters and the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC). Our preparation is in good shape; we just need to solidify the finishing touches,” said Alfian.
With their sights set on the three tournaments, Alfian acknowledged that he and his teammate must be extremely careful avoiding injuries and illnesses, their worst nightmare as said by him. He also emphasized that they must maintain high spirits and a positive mood.
When inquired about their goals for the upcoming events, Alfian stated that their primary objective was to just perform their best as consistently as possible, in every single match.
He acknowledged that there is definitely fierce competition in the men’s doubles sector, including fellow Indonsians Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin. But even still, Alfian expressed optimism about their chances for qualifying for the Olympics.
“Bagas/Fikri and Leo/Daniel have shown significant improvement. Still, we are optimistic about making it to the Paris Olympics. Hopefully, we can surpass pairs above us in the Race to Olympics rankings, and both Bagas/Fikri and Leo/Daniel can also qualify, ensuring two Indonesian pairs at the Olympics,” he added.
