Denmark Open: Alfian/Ardianto Not Stopping at Four
A below par start to the season, which saw exits by the quarterfinal stage at the German and All England Opens, caused Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto to consider a mindset change.
· PREM KUMAR
Six months later, the Indonesians have four titles in the bag, with the latest coming at Denmark Open 2022 after a 21-19 28-26 win over compatriots Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo at the Jyske Bank Arena. They have also played eight finals in that period, more than any other men’s pair this season.
“We didn’t expect 2022 to be this successful. We didn’t have the best of starts but we worked on being the optimal version of ourselves,” said Ardianto.
“A shift in mindset at the beginning of the year improved things for us. We were too eager to win titles and it backfired. We then decided we should focus on enjoying ourselves on court and started reaping the benefits.”