PETALING JAYA: Watch out for Raymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin to make their mark at the Thomas Cup Finals in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24-May 3.
The young Indonesian pair gave world champions and top seeds Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea a tough fight in the opening game before going down 19-21, 13-21 in the semi-finals of the All-England in Birmingham on Saturday.
In the other semi-final, world No. 2 pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik defeated China’s Chen Boyang-Liu Yi 21-11, 21-19 in 42 minutes.
However, the performance of the 21-year-old Raymond and his 20-year-old partner Nikolaus in their first All-England outing stood out.
Indonesia head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has taken note of their rise since they started playing together in 2024.
“They played well against the Koreans and looked good. They are a young and upcoming pair,” said Herry.
Last year, Raymond-Nikolaus impressed by winning two titles – the Indonesian Masters and the Australian Open.
In fact, en route to the Australian Open title, they defeated their seniors and world No. 5 pair Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri.
This year, they continued their strong start by reaching the finals of the Indonesian Masters and Thailand Masters, where they lost to teammates and national No. 2 Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana in the latter.
As Indonesia’s third-ranked pair, Raymond-Nikolaus could be a strong weapon in the second doubles slot.
Indonesia and all other countries must submit the names of their players for the team event by April 10.
