BWF World Championships 2026: Indonesia Only Secures Bronze, Gold Medal Drought Continues

The BWF World Championships in New Delhi, India has concluded. Indonesia's gold medal drought

continues after mixed doubles pair Amri Syahnawi/Nita Violina Marwah failed to advance to the final, suffering a dramatic semi-final defeat against world number one Chinese pair Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping.

Amri/Nita were forced to concede superiority to Feng/Huang after a gruelling 97-minute battle. The Indonesian pair lost with a scoreline of 22-20, 14-21, 20-22.

With this result, Amri/Nita secured a bronze medal for Indonesia. However, this loss also confirms that Indonesia once again has no representatives in the final round, and must extend the wait to reclaim gold at the World Championships.

Indonesia last stood on the top podium in 2019, when Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan were crowned world champions in Basel, Switzerland.

Amri/Nita Came Within Touching Distance Of Ending The Gold Drought

Amri/Nita were actually extremely close to making history. In the deciding game against Feng/Huang, the Indonesian pair pushed the match to a 20-20 deuce. However, the final two points went the way of the Chinese pair.

Despite being unseeded and making their World Championships debut, Amri/Nita were Indonesia's furthest advancing representatives in New Delhi.

Their run was highly impressive, as they eliminated two seeded pairs. In the Round of 16, they defeated 2026 All England champions Ye Hong Wei/Nicole Gonzales Chan. In the quarter-finals, they knocked out 11th seeds Yang Po-Hsuan/Hu Ling Fang.

The bronze medal won by Amri/Nita remains an important achievement. They were the only Indonesian representatives to win a podium place at the 2026 BWF World Championships.

Last Gold Came From Ahsan/Hendra

Indonesia's wait for gold has stretched on ever since Ahsan/Hendra won the world title in 2019.

That year, the pair nicknamed 'The Daddies' defeated Japan's Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi in the final with a score of 25-23, 9-21, 21-15.

This title marked Ahsan/Hendra's third world championship crown, following previous victories in 2013 and 2015.

Since that time, Indonesia has consistently returned with medals from the World Championships, but none have been gold.

In 2021, Indonesia withdrew entirely from the World Championships held in Huelva, Spain. PBSI pulled all Indonesian representatives over security and safety concerns amid the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Upon returning to competition at the 2022 Tokyo World Championships, Ahsan/Hendra once again became Indonesia's furthest progressing pair. However, they had to settle for silver after losing in the final to Malaysian pair Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik.

Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto also contributed a bronze medal at that edition. Indonesia returned home with two medals from Tokyo.

Indonesia's Medals Shift Across Disciplines

Following Ahsan/Hendra and Fajar/Rian's performances in 2022, Indonesia's medal tradition continued through different disciplines.

At the 2023 World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti were the only Indonesian athletes to reach the podium.

They advanced all the way to the final before being beaten by Chinese pair Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan with scores of 16-21, 12-21. This silver medal was Indonesia's only medal at the tournament.

The World Championships were not held in 2024, as the calendar clashed with the Paris Olympic Games.

One year later, at the 2025 World Championships also held in Paris, Putri Kusuma Wardani was Indonesia's standout performer.

Putri reached the semi-final stage and was the only Indonesian representative to win a medal. Her run was ended by Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in a three-game battle.

Five Medals Over Four Editions

Across the four World Championships editions Indonesia has competed in since Ahsan/Hendra's 2019 triumph, the nation has collected a total of five medals: two silver and three bronze.

In 2022, two medals were won in men's doubles courtesy of Ahsan/Hendra and Fajar/Rian. The following year, Apriyani/Fadia delivered a silver medal from women's doubles.

In 2025, Putri Kusuma Wardani kept the medal streak alive in the women's singles discipline. This year, Amri/Nita have continued that streak from the mixed doubles event.

Now, seven years on from Ahsan/Hendra standing atop the podium in Basel, Indonesia still remains in pursuit of that elusive world championship gold.