Wardani Inspires Indonesian Surge

Putri Kusuma Wardani and Jonatan Christie once again turned the tide for Indonesia as the 1989 champions overcame Thailand in the quarterfinals of the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025.

In the absence of Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Wardani was thrust into the role of leading their women’s singles challenge and the 22-year-old has done brilliantly so far, beating Pusarla V Sindhu and Line Kjaersfeldt in Group D. Heading into the quarterifnals having never beaten Pornpawee Chochuwong in eight matches, Wardani produced a stunning reversal, dominating the match from start to finish against an opponent who looked ill at ease.

Chochuwong did well in the opening game to reduce a big deficit, but that momentum proved short lived as Wardani ran away with the second game, 21-18 21-14.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” rued Chochuwong. “She played well but I could not control my condition. The shuttle was different compared to the group stage; it was playing faster, and she was more patient.”

For her part, Wardani was delighted with her dream run so far. “I got confident because I won the last two matches. I focussed only on myself and not the team’s position. All the players are top players, so my mentality has to be stronger than them. I want to believe in myself that I can play and beat anyone.”

That victory had a knock-on effect on her teammates, with Jonatan Christie, who was expected to have a difficult battle on his hands against Kunlavut Vitidsarn, praising her contribution after he’d somewhat surprisingly, quelled the Thai’s challenge in straight games. Despite leading by a wide margin in the second game, Vitidsarn was uncharacteristically erratic and Christie seized the opportunity to close it out in straight games.

“It’s not easy to play with Thailand,” said Christie. “They have so many good players. One-nil down was not easy. Putri Kusuma Wardani played amazing. Hers was the play of the day. She was 0-8 down, and your team’s 1-0 down, so much pressure on her.

“For the team event, your body language, your desire to win is impactful for the team. In this tournament I’m the captain, so I must be example for the others. I’ve been supporter, coach, captain, player… everything. I do my job. It’s a great opportunity and experience for me.”

Lanny Tria Mayasari and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti then prevailed in a marathon second game against Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat/Sapsiree Taerattanachai to seal the tie for Indonesia.

In the semifinals, Indonesia take on Korea, who barely put a foot wrong in quelling Denmark’s challenge 4-1. So impressive were the Koreans that even the men’s singles, which was expected to be one-way traffic for Denmark, saw Anders Antonsen pushed to 89 minutes by Jeon Hyeok Jin.

Earlier in the day, China steamrolled Malaysia 3-0, while Japan overcame Chinese Taipei by the same margin.

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