Fajar and Fikri beaten in Kumamoto opener after Japanese comeback
The Indonesian second seeds held a 19-13 lead in the deciding game before Hiroki Okamura and Kyohei Yamashita fought back to win.
Japan’s Hiroki Okamura and Kyohei Yamashita knocked Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri out of the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2026 on 10 November. The opening-round men’s doubles match ended 14-21, 21-11, 27-29 from the Indonesians’ perspective.
The decisive turnaround came with Fajar and Fikri leading 19-13 in the third game. Okamura and Yamashita responded by collecting six points in a row, erasing the gap and drawing level at 19-19.
Earlier, the Indonesian pair, seeded second at the BWF 500 tournament, had dropped the opening game 14-21. They recovered to take the second 21-11, sending the contest at Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium into a deciding game.
After the Japanese pair’s comeback, neither side could pull clear before the score reached 20-20. The decider went to deuce, with Okamura and Yamashita eventually claiming it 29-27 to eliminate the second seeds.
