Jakarta, June 4: Indian men’s doubles pair Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun produced a stunning comeback to reach their first-ever Indonesia Open Super 1000 quarterfinal at Jakarta on Thursday.
The world No. 30 duo fought back from a game down to defeat Malaysia’s Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing 16-21, 21-15, 21-19 in a thrilling 48-minute contest. The Malaysian pair had earlier gained attention for defeating India’s renowned doubles team of Satwik-Chirag at the All England Open 2026.
After losing the opening game, Hariharan and Arjun raised their level in the second to force a decider. The Indians were trailing 16-17 in the final game before producing a strong finish to seal one of the biggest victories of their careers.
The result marks another milestone in an impressive season for the Indian pair, who earlier defeated former World No. 6 Malaysian combination Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi at the India Open and were also part of India’s bronze medal-winning campaign at the Thomas Cup 2026.
Hariharan and Arjun will now face seventh-seeded Malaysian duo Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin for a place in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, India endured disappointment in the singles events. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu bowed out after a straight-games loss to An Se-young, while rising star Ayush Shetty suffered a three-game defeat against Lee Cheuk Yiu in the men’s singles second round.
