Indonesian fans booed Zheng Kaiwen during the home match, but the Malaysian badminton men's doubles player remained unfazed.

Zheng Kaiwen, a notable Malaysian men's doubles player, did not let the unfriendly atmosphere from local fans during the semifinals of the 2025 Indonesia Badminton Super 1000 tournament, where he partnered with Wan Wei Chong, disturb his sleep. Ranked seventh in the world, Zheng faced local favorites Sabarl and Morresa in Jakarta and encountered boos from the audience at the Senayan Sports Complex, ultimately losing the match with scores of 18-21, 21-12, 18-21. However, Zheng chose to remain calm and not dwell on the situation.

Zheng Kaiwen (left) and his partner Wan Wei Chong have learned to accept the interference from Indonesian fans at home, understanding the emotions of local supporters backing their players.

It is normal for home fans to try to disrupt the opposing team. Zheng Kaiwen, 25, stated after training on the 20th local time, "I don't think it's a big deal; home fans might just want to support their players by trying to disrupt our rhythm, which is quite normal." He added, "To be honest, we've never experienced anything like this before, at least not to that extent. It can be tough to handle, but we can definitely learn from it and strive to cope better in the future."

Players need to overcome external pressure and maintain control. Zheng said, "Perhaps the audience wants to break our momentum, especially since we performed quite well in the previous two editions of the Indonesia Badminton Tournament. But competing in front of such passionate fans is unavoidable, and we will accept it." He continued, "This is really not a big issue; every player experiences this kind of pressure at some point in their career. Other major tournaments, like the World Championships, can be equally intense, and ultimately, we have to take control and stay focused."

The iconic Senayan Sports Complex is known for its deafening atmosphere and has long been regarded as one of the toughest venues for visiting players, particularly Malaysian athletes, due to the longstanding rivalry between the two countries.

The duo is gradually regaining form. Although they were eliminated in the semifinals, the performance of the Chong-Wen pair is steadily improving. After four early exits since March, they made a strong comeback, winning the Malaysian Super 500 tournament, advancing to the second round of the Singapore Super 750 tournament, and reaching the semifinals of the Indonesia Super 1000 tournament within just three weeks.

“We have a month to prepare for the Japan Super 750 and China Super 1000 tournaments,” Zheng Kaiwen said. “We need to address the shortcomings from our past competitions, and regardless of how tough it is, we must work hard in training and make the most of the upcoming weeks.” He added, “We are certainly performing better than in previous years, but we must strive to maintain our form and stability. We cannot afford to let our guard down in Japan, as any slip could undo everything we have built recently.”

He stated, “If we want to improve our world ranking, we must achieve better results in the Super 750 and Super 1000 events. Next month, we will have the opportunity to do just that.”