Dejan Ferdinansyah Shares the Differences of Playing with Senior, Junior, and Same-Age Partners

Jakarta, July 18, 2025 – Indonesian mixed doubles player Dejan Ferdinansyah shared his experiences on partnering with players of various age levels: senior, junior, and peers. Over the past two years, Dejan has had the chance to pair up with athletes from different generations during his time in the national team.

Currently, Dejan is preparing to make his debut with a much younger partner, Bernadine Anindya Wardana, who is six years his junior. The pair are scheduled to play their first international tournament together in September 2025 at a lower-tier event.

Previously, Dejan partnered with Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, who is six years older than him, and with Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, who is from the same age group.

Dejan explained that playing with a senior like Gloria pushed him to focus on improving himself. “When I played with Kak Glo, I had to focus on myself, like how to catch up to her, how to match her level. It was more about self-development,” said Dejan at PBSI national training center in Jakarta.

Now, being the more experienced one in the partnership, Dejan says he’s starting to understand the responsibility of guiding a junior partner. “Now I feel what Kak Glo might have felt back then. Being more patient, reminding more, and encouraging. That’s the lesson I learned from partnering with someone younger.”

With Fadia, the focus was mainly on technical synergy. “With Fadia, it was more about playing patterns because she’s already experienced at the elite level and knows how the game should be played,” he added.

Armed with experience across different dynamics, Dejan hopes to quickly build chemistry and adapt well with Bernadine ahead of their debut on the international stage.