Eighteen-year-old Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan may just be giving Indonesian fans a reason to believe again.

With Gregoria Mariska Tunjung sidelined and only Putri Kusuma Wardani holding firm among the top 10, Indonesia’s women’s singles department had looked thin before Wiryawan’s emergence with fearless performances at the Uber Cup Finals in Horsens.

Currently world No.56, the teenager booked her place in the main draw of PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2026 on Tuesday after battling past Chinese Taipei’s Chen Su Yu 16-21 22-20 21-14 in a gruelling qualifying clash. It was another test of composure for a player growing in confidence.

“The match was smooth even though it went to three games,” she said calmly afterwards.

The result follows her breakout showing in Horsens, where she stunned established names Sim Yu Jin and Wen Yu Zhang. Her victory over Sim delivered Indonesia’s only point in their 3-1 semifinal defeat to eventual champions Korea.

Last week in Thailand, Wiryawan defeated Olympian Thet Htar Thuzar before pushing former world champion Ratchanok Intanon to three games.

Her ambitions are bold – crack the top 30 this year, become a World Tour champion and one day win Olympic gold.

“Very high,” Wiryawan said when asked about her confidence level. “I feel ready to compete with the top players but I need to train harder because there are still shortcomings. I want to ensure every training session counts.

“Horsens was very valuable experience, especially in the semifinal. I won’t let that experience go to waste. I want to play even better here than I did last week.”

Indonesia have had ambitious young shuttlers before, but in Wiryawan, genuine hope may finally be taking shape.

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