Some time after Indonesia’s hottest young pair was done with their second round at the POLYTRON Indonesia Open 2026, the Istora was still crackling with the electricity of their performance.

Raymond Indra and Nikolaus Joaquin, their partnership just over a year old, have already been scalping the big names while summitting smaller peaks. Today, at the young pair’s first Indonesia Open, it was Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik’s turn to feel the heat. The Indonesians played at a breathless pace, all blindingly quick rallies and rapid-fire exchanges and whippy smashes, until the Malaysians left to pick the pieces of a 33-minute demolition job.

Having fallen 21-14 21-14 Chia and Soh were at a loss for words.

“They’re young and confident,” was all Chia could say.

“Today was truly extraordinary,” said Joaquin. “What I felt most was the crowd. I thought it was already lively yesterday, but thank God, it was even more so today. That made Raymond and me even more ambitious.”

Next up will be eighth seeds Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi.

In the top half of the draw, another young pair – 2024 World Junior champions Kang Khai Xing/Aaron Tai – however faltered before India’s Hariharan Amsakarunan/Arjun MR, who made their first Super 1000 quarterfinal.

It was a tight battle all the way, with the Indians having extensively prepared for the service return of the Malaysians’ exceptional spin serves. Arjun said their coach Tan Kim Her had thrown spinning shuttles during their warm-up.

“Clearly we knew we had a chance for taking this match, because we played them once at the Syed Modi (Super 300) where we lost out in the third game,” said Arjun. “Satwik and Chirag had played them recently, and I sat behind them as a coach along with coach Tan. We clearly knew what to expect. Before the match, coach Tan was telling us to practice those spin returns. He was throwing us shuttles like that, because they’re good at spinning the shuttle in service, so it is very tricky.

“With any other team, only one of the players would do the spin serve, not both. When they (Kang/Tai) serve, it’s like a continuous streak of points.”

Highlights

» Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul avenged his Malaysia Masters final loss to Li Shi Feng, beating the seventh seed 18-21 21-8 21-12.

» Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie made their first Super 1000 quarterfinal since last year’s Indonesia Open, beating Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Pasaribu 21-15 21-19.

» Victor Lai proved too hard to contain for Koki Watanabe, with the Canadian winning 21-10 21-9.

What They Said

“We were down in the third game, 6-11, and I wasn’t confident and felt under pressure, but my partner was boosting me up, so I could manage playing the shuttle inside the code without mistakes.” – Hariharan Amsakarunan, on making his first Super 1000 quarterfinals with MR Arjun

“Physically, I’m a bit tired, mentally the same, and definitely I’m pushing like crazy also today to get it in two sets, and I think I have good control now. It’s about the mental toughness, and to fight for it.” – Alex Lanier

“Indonesian fans always support me a lot, so I really enjoy it. However, I pray, good or bad, they continue to support. So I really appreciate my second home.” – Chou Tien Chen

→Results (Round 2)