Fajar/Rian face tough battle in Asian Championships opening round

Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto advanced to the second round of the 2025 Asian Championships taking place at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, China.

The Indonesian doubles pair faced fierce resistance from home representatives Xie Hao Nan/Zeng Wei Han — the world number 26 pair who have yet to defeat them in their two previous encounters.

In the first game, the match proceeded tightly with both pairs chasing scores. After being tied at 2-2, the Chinese representatives pulled ahead to 6-2 — a moment that occurred after Rian had to change his racket.

• Xie/Zeng led by 7-2
• Fajar/Rian closed gap to 6-7
• Score leveled at 8-8
• Chinese pair led 11-9 at interval
• After break, Xie/Zeng extended lead to 13-9

Despite trailing, the Indonesian representatives kept fighting — managing to reduce the gap to 10-13 after Fajar’s attack that couldn’t be returned by their opponents.