Ubed acknowledges Dong Tian Yao's resilience, 'All-Indonesian Final' cancelled

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian men’s singles shuttler Moh Zaki Ubaidillah was forced to acknowledge the resilience of Chinese representative Dong Tian Yao, losing a rubber game 19-21, 21-9, 18-21 in the semifinal of the Australian Open 2026 at the Quaycentre, Olympic Boulevard, Sydney, on Saturday. Ubed’s defeat simultaneously cancelled the prospect of an All-Indonesian Final in the men’s singles sector of the BWF World Tour Super 300 level tournament. “Today’s match was quite tight, I am still grateful even though the result was not satisfying. I tried my best, maybe it just wasn’t my fortune,” said Ubed in a PBSI statement after the match. Ubed assessed that Dong was able to play better throughout the match, especially in the deciding game through the Chinese men’s singles player’s success in changing his attacking scheme by relying on a faster tempo. “In this tournament he indeed played very well, he studied our first meeting last year,” he said. “Happy to be able to penetrate the Super 500 semifinals for the first time but of course I am not satisfied, there is still much more I want to pursue ahead. There is still a lot to be improved and evaluated again,” said Ubed. While the “All-Indonesian Final” failed to materialise, the Red and White still have a chance to bring home the men’s singles title at the Australian Open 2026 after Alwi Farhan secured a final ticket by eliminating Hong Kong representative of Indonesian descent Jason Gunawan in the other semifinal. Alwi certainly does not want to repeat Ubed’s mistake when facing Dong in the final on Sunday (14/6) tomorrow. Besides Alwi, the Indonesian pair Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh. Reza Pahlevi Isfahani will also appear in the men’s doubles final against Chinese representatives Chen Boyang/Liu Yi.