Indonesia men’s doubles shuttlers Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana in action against India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty during the group match of Thomas Cup Finals at Hi-Tech Sports Centre in Chengdu, China on Wednesday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
CHENGDU: Indonesia’s Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana are using the pain of narrowly missing out on a spot in the Paris Olympics as fuel in the Thomas Cup Finals.
Shohibul-Bagas suffered a heartbreak after finishing in ninth spot in the Race to Paris rankings.
Teammates Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto had already qualified after finishing in seventh place and as two pairs from the same country can only make the cut if both finish in the top eight, Shohibul-Bagas ended up missing out.
The pair are now keen to make amends by helping Indonesia to capture the Thomas Cup crown.
“We were disappointed after we could not make the cut for the Olympics as we had a chance until the end of the qualifying period last month,” said Bagas.
“But it was not to be for us. It’s painful to come so close and then miss out but we can’t afford to dwell on this.
“We want to look forward and now we have an opportunity to do well in the Thomas Cup and we want to help the team win the title.”
Shohibul-Bagas, who captured the All-England title in 2022, have been chosen as the second doubles pair for Indonesia in the team meet behind Alfian-Ardianto and are joined by world No. 13 Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin.
In the singles, Indonesia also have enviable strength with the likes of world No. 3 Jonatan Christie and world No. 7 Anthony Ginting supported by Chico Aura (No. 29) and reigning world junior champion Alwi Farhan.
Indonesia are one of the favourites to be crowned champions and reached the final in the last two editions, winning the title in 2021 in Aarhus, Denmark, and finishing runners-up to India in 2022 in Bangkok.
The team have already assured themselves a spot in the last eight after beating England 5-0 and Thailand 4-1 in their opening two Group C matches.
