PARIS, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan seized the spotlight Tuesday as world No. 91 Ade Resky Dwicahyo upset Koki Watanabe, ranked 72 places higher, to advance to the second round of the 2025 BWF World Championships.
Dwicahyo controlled the match against his Japanese opponent throughout, surrendering the lead only briefly midway through the first game. His 21-19, 21-18 victory sets up a second-round clash with his former training partner, Jonatan Christie.
"It's a big story for us, because this is my fourth World Championships. This time, I beat a top-20 player from Japan; they are a strong country in badminton, and this is big for us in Azerbaijan," he said.
"The challenge was that I was not confident before the match. But I talked with my coach, and we did some warmup, and then I felt better in my body and my mind. And on court, I played with nothing to lose," Dwicahyo added.
The 27-year-old credited a month-long training camp in Malaysia for his preparation. "We had training for a month training in Malaysia. Also we had a tournament before we came here. So it was good, good training, good atmosphere, and good sparring. So we were ready for this tournament."
Azerbaijan's other shuttlers have already bowed out: Dicky Dwi Pangestu in men's singles, Keisha Fatimah Azzahra in women's singles, and one men's doubles and one mixed doubles pair. Dwicahyo is now the nation's lone representative in the round of 32.
So far, the 2025 BWF World Championships have seen only two major upsets: Dwicahyo's victory over Watanabe and, on day one, Japan's Yuta Tanaka edging fourth-ranked Li Shifeng in a grueling three-game battle, 21-19, 15-21, 21-18. ■
