NEW DELHI: Alwi Farhan might lack the experience at the elite level of badminton but the youngster, with lofty ambitions, has been laying a solid foundation in the last six months or so. And he has the trickery in his racquet-wielding abilities to potentially live up to his sky-high ambitions.
Given the manner in which his fledgling career has been shaping up, his appetite for growth is far from surprising. He has had a penchant for big performances since his junior years. He had first signalled his potential by capturing the world junior title in 2023. To understand the enormity of that feat, he had successfully followed the footsteps of some of the legends — Chen Long, Viktor Axelsen and Kento Momota. Incidentally, he had stopped India's Ayush Shetty — who is also looking to make a mark at the elite level at present — in the semifinal stage before going on to corner glory.
Now, Alwi is plotting yet another world title, albeit at the senior level. Making just his second appearance at the marquee competition, Alwi did what was expected of him. He navigated a tricky fight against Yoo Tae Bin of South Korea to make a bright start at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Monday.
The 21-year-old won 21-17, 21-12 in 45 minutes. It was far from straightforward with Yoo offering stiff resistance in both the games. Alwi is just grateful to come out unscathed. "I performed very well today (Monday) and finished the match without any injury," he said after the match.
Alwi has two titles to his name so far this season and had notably beaten World No 1 Shi Yu Qi during his run to the semifinal stage of the Singapore Open in May. For someone who's from the same batch as Ayush, that appears to be a creditable run. But not for Alwi.
"I'm not really satisfied. I have a lot of goals to reach for myself. It was a good opening for me to know about the elite level, to know how the top-10 players can play back-to-back tournaments and win a lot of tournaments, a lot of major tournaments. I have really prepared for this tournament so I hope that I can show what I did in training," Alwi said, with plenty of conviction in his eyes through the course of interaction.
While Alwi took another step towards his growth, his 'good friend' Ayush, who holds similar aspirations like him, sent shockwaves with a Goliath victory over Shi Yu Qi later. Since their aforementioned battle at the world juniors, Alwi and Ayush have gone on to cross paths on several occasions and they could once again face each other in the Round of 16 stage. Alwi hoped both of them can get used to the demands of the top level. "We have a really good relationship. I hope we can grow at the top level as well. We are just upcoming players with not a lot of experience, but we try to reach that level. I hope Ayush and I can grow to this level."
Badminton has a massive following in Indonesia and Alwi's performances are closely monitored by many. Displaying maturity beyond his years, the youngster said he embraces pressure. "Pressure is a privilege. If someone puts you under pressure, you must take the responsibility. Maybe a lot of people know that I have the capability to achieve a lot of goals. I take just the positive things," he said.
With his rapidly-developing skills and his openness to take criticism, Alwi promises to go a long way in the days to come.