All England: New Stars Dazzle
A new pair have burst into reckoning on the world stage. Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana’s electric run at the YONEX All England culminated in a dream victory as they outplayed their senior compatriots…
· DEV SUKUMAR
A new pair have burst into reckoning on the world stage. Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana’s electric run at the YONEX All England culminated in a dream victory as they outplayed their senior compatriots Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan in the final.
All through the week, with the unseeded pair taking down one formidable pair after another, the intensity of their emotions in victory has been evident. Today, after Maulana buried the last kill, Fikri fell to the floor in a flood of tears, and while his partner was more composed, their bear hug at the end showed how much this meant to them. Before this week, they had not even made the final of a World Tour Super 300 event.
“I just went blank,” Fikri said later. “I’ve dreamed of this moment since I was nine.”