Nikolaus Joaquin
Nikolaus Joaquin is an Indonesian badminton player affiliated with the Djarum club.
Career
Early career
Joaquin commenced his badminton career at the PB Candra Wijaya badminton club. In 2018, he participated in the Djarum general audition and advanced to the final selection phase in Kudus, West Java. He earned admission into Djarum club in 2022, where he was paired with Verrell Yustin Mulia in the boys' doubles. The duo secured a victory at the national team selection tournament that same year, subsequently earning Joaquin a spot in the Indonesian national team in 2023.National team career (2023-present)
Following Mulia's transition to mixed doubles with Priskila Venus Elsadai and his subsequent departure from the junior circuit, Joaquin formed a new partnership with Djarum teammate Muhammad Al Farizi. During the 2023 Asian Junior Championships, the duo contributed to the Indonesian team's advancement to the mixed team finals, where they eventually conceded to Japan. In the individual competition, their campaign ended in the second round following a defeat to Chen Yongrui and Hu Keyuan. The pair was later selected for the 2023 World Junior Championships, earning a silver medal in the mixed team event after a final-round loss to China. In the individual category, they reached the quarter-finals before falling to Ma Shang and Zhu Yijun. After a brief, inactive pairing with Teges Satriaji Cahyo Hutomo in early 2024, Joaquin reunited with Farizi. This resumed partnership still struggled to make a mark, with multiple first-round exits across several tournaments remedied only by a title victory at the 2024 Slovenia Open over Indonesian teammates Rahmat Hidayat and Yeremia Rambitan. The partnership of Joaquin and Farizi concluded following their quarter-final exit at the Indonesia Masters Super 100 II in Surabaya.In February 2025, Joaquin initiated a new partnership with Raymond Indra under the guidance of junior men's doubles coach Chafidz Yusuf—the renowned strategist credited with forming elite pairings such as Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and also Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. The duo demonstrated immediate synergy, securing consecutive International Challenge titles in Singapore and Sri Lanka. Although their campaign at the Phuket International Series ended in the second round, they recovered decisively with back-to-back titles at the Luxembourg Open and the Denmark Challenge.
The pair made their BWF World Tour Super 300 debut at the 2025 Macau Open, where they were eliminated in the opening round by Lee Fang-chih and Lee Fang-jen. Nevertheless, they maintained their momentum on the World Tour with the semi-final appearances at the Indonesia Masters Super 100 I in Pekanbaru and the Kaohsiung Masters, alongside a runner-up finish at the Al Ain Masters. Joaquin and Indra subsequently secured their fifth title of the season at the Indonesia Masters Super 100 II in Medan, defeating veteran competitors Choi Sol-gyu and Goh V Shem in the final.
At the 2025 Korea Masters, they advanced to the final after notable victories over Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju and Chen Zhiyi and Presley Smith, ultimately finishing as runners-up to the home favorites, Lee Jong-min and Wang Chan. This upward trajectory culminated in a Super 500 debut at the Australian Open. Despite being unseeded, the pair achieved a significant breakthrough by upsetting two top-10 seeds—Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun and also Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin—before clinching their inaugural Super 500 title in a three-game victory over seniors Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. While initially shortlisted for the [Badminton at the 2025 Al Ain Masters|2025 SEA Games|2025 SEA Games], the Indonesian Ministry of Sports ultimately opted for the veteran experience of Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.
The 2026 season commenced with their Super 1000 debut at the Malaysia Open, which ended in a first-round loss to Gutama and Isfahani. However, the duo's subsequent appearance at the Indonesia Masters marked a career milestone as they competed at the historic Istora Senayan—a feat Joaquin characterized as a lifelong ambition. Following a challenging opening match against Éloi Adam and Léo Rossi, they staged a remarkable comeback against Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan, saving five match points to advance. In the quarter-finals, they defeated Alfian and Fikri for the second time in a match noted for its spirited, good-natured exchanges between teammates. Joaquin and Indra reached their second Super 500 final after avenging their previous loss to Gutama and Isfahani in the semi-finals, though they ultimately finished as runners-up following a straight-games defeat to Malaysia's Goh and Izzuddin. Coming to the Thailand Masters as the second seed, they finished second to compatriots Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana.
Achievements
BWF World Tour (2 titles, 4 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation. The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Al Ain Masters | Super 100 |  BWF International Challenge/Series (5 titles, 1 runner-up)Men's doubles
|