0:00
In the 2025 Sudterman Cup, Alwi Farhan
0:03
put up an incredibly impressive
0:04
performance against Denmark's Anders
0:06
Antinson, beating him in a close three-
0:08
set match. In this video, we want to
0:10
take a closer look at Alwi Farhan and
0:12
exactly what enables him to play at such
0:14
a high level. Let's start with Ali
0:16
Farhan's playing position.
0:20
An aspect of Alwi's game that is quite
0:22
unique to him is his stance when he's
0:24
playing. You can see how he stands very
0:26
wide which ultimately results in a lower
0:28
center of gravity and almost looks as if
0:30
he is trying to do the maboo stance from
0:44
Historically, this stance is trained to
0:46
improve balance, endurance, and strength
0:49
in the legs, which makes a lot of sense
0:52
when you watch Ali play to stay in
0:59
His low center of gravity helps him
1:01
tremendously in his defense. Despite
1:03
being so young, Ali Farhan's defense is
1:06
one of the best among the juniors and
1:08
rivals the top senior players in the
1:15
well. Notice when he is on defense, his
1:18
torso doesn't move too much and his
1:20
chest stays relatively
1:22
upright. A large problem for many bad
1:24
mitten players is too much movement in
1:25
their torso on defense, which is more
1:27
draining and reduces their recovery
1:39
Ali Farhan's body control is comparable
1:41
to some of the best players of all time
1:42
like Chenl Long and Kento Mamamo. And
1:45
furthermore, both Chenl Long and Kento
1:47
Mamamot had some of the best defense and
1:50
retrieval skills of all
1:51
time. However, Awi Farhan's body
1:55
position isn't exactly the same as
1:57
Mimoto or Chenl Long. While all three
2:00
players keep a low center of gravity,
2:02
Alwi Farhan has a low center of gravity
2:05
through a greater angle of knee
2:07
bend. This is in contrast to Mimoda and
2:10
Chenlong who lean more forward in their
2:12
torso. Both positions have their upsides
2:14
and downsides. For example, an upside of
2:17
Ali Farhan's position is that it makes
2:20
it easier for him to move towards the
2:21
back court because his torso is not
2:23
leaning forward. When Chenlong or Kentto
2:26
get pushed towards the back court, their
2:27
chest must come up first, which takes a
2:29
little more time. However, a downside to
2:31
Ali Farhan's body position is how
2:34
physically taxing it is to maintain that
2:36
position for an entire rally, let alone
2:38
an entire match. So, if you want to
2:41
mimic these players, you should copy the
2:44
position that is most comfortable for
2:47
you. Now, if you've watched Ali play,
2:50
you would have noticed that his style is
2:52
not defensive at all. Even though his
2:54
defense is very good, his style is not
2:57
based around it. He plays more of an
2:59
attacking style where he aims to take
3:00
the shuttle as early as possible. His
3:02
focus is more on putting pressure on the
3:04
opponents by constantly pushing the
3:05
speed of the game, taking the shuttle
3:08
very early at the net and playing hard
3:09
smashes in the back. Want to be dueling
3:11
with him at 18 all or 19
3:22
all. You can see how he jumps out a lot
3:25
in the midc court intercepting shots to
3:27
keep applying the pressure on his
3:34
This style, however, requires a lot more
3:38
physicality because of the amount of
3:40
jumping and attacking that is involved,
3:42
which is a major downside.
3:54
And as a result, you can see Ali Farhan
3:56
becoming tired and ultimately losing
3:58
focus leading to a lot of unforced
4:03
errors. Good switch of direction from
4:05
Farhan Anderson battling hard.
4:15
There is a large contrast between his
4:17
style and a style from a player like
4:19
Shiuchi. For example, Shiuchi is more of
4:21
a controlling player and not
4:23
exceptionally fast on the court. So, he
4:25
aims to disrupt his opponent by playing
4:26
deceptions and unexpected change of
4:29
shots that will hinder his opponent's
4:38
What? However, this isn't to say that
4:40
Ali Farhan doesn't have any changes in
4:41
his shots or deceptions. One of his
4:43
biggest attacking attributes is his stop
4:46
drop. This shot is extremely effective
4:49
for Ali Farhan because it's a change of
4:51
pace from fast to slow. For example, in
4:55
these three clips, you can see how Ali
4:58
Farhan moves quickly to his around the
5:00
headside but plays a slow shot. That is
5:04
why it is difficult for Antinson and
5:06
Axelson to retrieve these shots.
5:20
On the topic of slowing down the pace,
5:23
when Ali Farhan is being pressured by
5:24
his opponent, he will generally play a
5:27
high clear to slow down the pace. And
5:29
because his defense is so good, he can
5:31
often counterattack. Let's take a look
5:32
at some rallies where he counterattacks
5:34
Antonson's attack. You can see in these
5:35
rallies, Awi Farhan pushes or drives
5:38
Antonson's attack, putting Antonson in a
5:40
weak and late position, giving Awi
5:48
attack. Beautiful touch from
5:55
Farhan. Farhan's game,
5:59
but high quality from both players.
6:14
I'm taking no chances that time.
6:16
However, to counterattack, an aggressive
6:19
shot is not a necessity to gain the edge
6:21
in the rally. You just need to
6:23
anticipate and plan out your next few
6:26
For example, in these clips, focus on
6:28
Ali Farhan's footwork. Notice how he
6:30
plays a simple straight block on his
6:32
backhand side and switches his feet
6:33
position. This is in anticipation of a
6:35
cross push to his late forehand corner.
6:51
From this position, the most dangerous
6:54
shot would be the cross push for Ali. If
6:56
Antonson is able to get Alowi to his
6:58
late forehand corner, then it is very
7:01
likely for Anders to win the rally. That
7:03
is why Ali will switch his leg position
7:04
to be in a better position to catch this
7:12
We've talked about having a fast racket
7:13
setup before, so here is a little recap.
7:16
A fast racket setup lets you cut off and
7:18
attack the faster pushes to your back
7:20
court and midcourt because it
7:23
essentially cuts down the amount of time
7:24
it takes to bring up your racket. Fast
7:26
racket setup allows Ali to hold before
7:28
playing the shot. What really stood out
7:29
to us was how fast Ali Faren was with
7:32
his racket in the midcourt and front
7:33
court. Take this clip for example.
7:48
N is still so close to the net. In this
7:51
flat exchange with Antonson, you can see
7:53
how close Ali is standing to the net,
7:55
which means he has very little time to
7:57
react, but he is still able to keep
8:00
driving and putting the pressure on
8:02
Antonson simply because his racket setup
8:04
is quick. The fast racket setup
8:05
attributes to Owie's attacking style and
8:07
allows him to play very fast in the midc
8:15
well. In summary, some things we can
8:18
learn from Ali Farhan is to take a
8:20
stance that lowers our center of gravity
8:22
to improve our defense. That however
8:24
doesn't necessarily mean you play a more
8:26
defensive style. If you play an
8:28
attacking style, Ali Farhan is a good
8:31
player to study to learn from his
8:33
various fast to slow pace changes as
8:35
well as things like his quick racket
8:37
setup that allows you to play a faster
8:42
What did you guys think of Ali's
8:44
performance in the 2025 Cedarman Cup?
8:46
And do you guys think he will be next
8:48
face of Indonesia men's singles? Let us
8:50
know in the comments below. If you like
8:52
this video, make sure to like and
8:54
subscribe. And as always, thanks for
