2001–2002: Career beginnings Setiawan began his international journey at the
2001 Asian Junior Championships, where he won the bronze medals in the boys' team and mixed doubles events. He then claimed the boys' team gold medal in the
2002 Asian Junior Championships, where the Indonesian team beat South Korea in the final. In the individual event, Setiawan was defeated in the semi-finals and won the bronze medals in the boys' doubles with Riyadi, and also in the mixed doubles with Devi Sukma Wijaya. He played at the
2002 World Junior Championships held in
Pretoria, South Africa, and the Indonesia team won the bronze medal after beating Thailand 3–1 in the bronze medal play-off. At the age of seventeen, Setiawan partnered with
Joko Riyadi to reach the finals of the 2002
Singapore Satellite, and the duo finished runner-up to Donny Prasetyo and
Denny Setiawan.
2003–2005: Southeast Asian and Asian champion In 2003, Setiawan made his debut with
Markis Kido at the
Asian Championships, finishing as runner-up, thus winning a silver medal. He then won his first gold medal with the Indonesian team at the
2003 SEA Games in Vietnam. Setiawan reached his first IBF Grand Prix finals in the 2004
Denmark Open, but he and Kido were defeated by the home pairing of
Lars Paaske and
Jonas Rasmussen in straight games. In 2005, Setiawan and Kido were qualified to compete in the top tournaments, as they had accumulated enough ranking points to do so. They won their first Grand Prix title in the
Indonesia Open, beating their senior compatriots
Sigit Budiarto and
Candra Wijaya in the final. The duo also crowned as Asian Champion after winning the
2005 Asian Badminton Championships held in India. In November–December, Setiawan took part in his second SEA Games, and won a gold medal in the men's doubles with Kido and a silver in the men's team event.
2006: World Cup title Setiawan made his first appearance in the Thomas Cup in
2006. The Indonesian men's team eventually finished 3rd, losing to China in the semi-finals 0–3. At the
2006 Indonesia Open, ranked 14th in the world, Setiawan and Kido advanced to the final of the
2006 Indonesia Open after beating
Jung Jae-sung and
Lee Yong-dae of South Korea in the semi-finals. They were unable to defend their title after being defeated by the 2000 Olympic champions,
Tony Gunawan and
Candra Wijaya in the final. Bouncing back from the loss, they later won their first title of the year in the
Hong Kong Open. At the
2006 World Championships, Setiawan and Kido lost in the quarter-finals to England's
Robert Blair and
Anthony Clark. This was their second loss to Blair and Clark, where earlier in the year they were also beaten in the second round of the
All England Open. In October, Setiawan and Kido, then ranked 9th in the world, won the
China Open by beating reigning World champions
Cai Yun and
Fu Haifeng in the final in straight games. Setiawan and Kido then claimed the
2006 World Cup, beating the Malaysian pairing of
Lin Woon Fui and
Fairuzizuan Tazari in the final. He competed in the
2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, but lost in the semi-finals of both the
men's doubles with Kido and in the
men's team, settling for bronze medals in both events.
2007: World champion and world number 1 Beginning without winning any tournaments in early 2007, in August, Setiawan and Kido won the
World Championships title in August, defeating
Jung Jae-sung and
Lee Yong-dae in the final, 21–19, 21–19 in straight games. Prior to the World Championships, their best achievement in the first half of 2007 was being the runner-up at the
China Masters. After the World Championships, they reached the semi-finals in the
Japan Open and won the
Chinese Taipei Open. These wins propelled Setiawan and Kido to world number 1 on the BWF World Rankings. Later in 2007, Setiawan and Kido managed to defend their title in the
China and
Hong Kong Opens. They also reached semi-finals in the
Macau and
Denmark Opens, but they were defeated by Malaysian pair
Koo Kien Keat and
Tan Boon Heong in both tournaments. Setiawan and Kido had never won a single match to Koo and Tan since their first meeting in January 2007 at the
Malaysia Open, and the head-to-head record between the pairs stood at 0–4. Setiawan then made his third appearance at the
SEA Games in Thailand, and helped Indonesia win the men's team gold. Setiawan then won his second men's doubles gold medal at the Games with Kido, defeating
Hendri Saputra and
Hendra Wijaya in the final.
2008: Olympic champion Setiawan and his partner,
Markis Kido, opened the 2008 season by winning the
Malaysia Open. Unfortunately, in the following tournaments, they were defeated in the early rounds, namely in the
Korea and
All England Opens. They then reached the final of the
Swiss Open, but lost to Korean pair
Jung Jae-sung and
Lee Yong-dae in rubber games. Setiawan played at the
Thomas Cup held in Jakarta, but he and Indonesia team lost 0–3 in the semi-finals match against South Korea. Later in August, Setiawan and Kido participated in the
Beijing Olympics games, managing to make it to the finals. The finals were held on 17 August, the
Independence Day of Indonesia. In the final, Setiawan and Kido won the gold medal, beating the home pair of
Cai Yun and
Fu Haifeng in three games, 12–21, 21–11, 21–16. After the Olympics, Setiawan and Kido won the next three tournaments in a row, the
China Masters,
Denmark Open, and the
French Open. Their tournament streak came to an end when they lost to arch-rivals
Koo Kien Keat and
Tan Boon Heong in the quarter-finals of the
Hong Kong Open. They then topped the BWF Super Series ranking and qualified to compete at the
Super Series Masters Finals held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. They finished in the semi-finals after being defeated by Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae of South Korea.
2009–2012: Asian Games champion, splitting up with Kido Setiawan started the 2009 season as the semi-finalists in the
Malaysia Open with his partner Kido who was injured at the time. As the only Indonesian participant in the
2009 Asian Championships held in Suwon, South Korea, Setiawan and Kido managed to win their second Asian Championships title, beating local favorites
Ko Sung-hyun and
Yoo Yeon-seong in the final. In May, Setiawan competed at the
Sudirman Cup in Guangzhou, China. Since Kido still had an injury, Setiawan paired with
Mohammad Ahsan in the semi-finals match against South Korea. However, Setiawan and Ahsan lost to
Jung Jae-sung and
Lee Yong-dae in the tie decider, losing 9–21, 19–21 in straight games. Indonesia lost to South Korea 1–3 overall. In June, they reached the finals of the
Singapore Open and reached the semi-finals of the
Indonesia Open. After skipping the
2009 BWF World Championships, Setiawan and Kido won their second title of the year at the
Japan Open. Later, they successfully defended their title at the
French Open. Despite being ranked second in the BWF Super Series rankings, Setiawan and Kido chose to skip the
Super Series Masters Finals to prepare for the upcoming SEA Games. Setiawan and Kido then won their third men's doubles gold medal at the
SEA Games, and also helped Indonesia to defend their gold medal in the men's team event. Prior to the SEA Games, Setiawan and Kido had submitted their resignation letters to
Badminton Association of Indonesia, and chose to train at their club, Jaya Raya Jakarta. Setiawan began the 2010 season as an independent player, and competed in the National Championships in January. He and Kido, who also left the national team, won the
National Championships title. Setiawan and Kido played at the
All England Open, and finished in the semi-finals, their best performance while competing in that tournament at the time. They were then called to join the national team training center to compete in the
Thomas Cup. Indonesia finished runner-up at that competition after losing to China in the final. While competing in the men's doubles with Kido, Setiawan started a new partnership in the mixed doubles with
Anastasia Russkikh of Russia. His debut with Russkikh did not go well, since they were eliminated in the qualifying round of the
Singapore Open. He and Kido also lost in the semi-finals to the Chinese Taipei pair of
Fang Chieh-min and
Lee Sheng-mu. Setiawan and Russkikh then started to gain traction after reaching the finals of the
Indonesia Open, but they failed to win the title after being defeated by the Polish pair of
Robert Mateusiak and
Nadieżda Zięba. Setiawan finally won his first international title of the year with Kido at the
Malaysia Grand Prix Gold. He and his partner, Kido, beating
Hendra Aprida Gunawan and
Alvent Yulianto in the final. Setiawan and Kido competed at the
BWF World Championships in Paris, and won a bronze medal after being defeated by
Cai Yun and
Fu Haifeng in the semi-finals. At the Europe tour in October–November, Setiawan and Kido finished runner-up at the
Denmark Open and semi-finals at the
French Open. In the mixed doubles with Russkikh, the duo lost in the first round in Denmark, and in the quarter-finals in France. Setiawan and Kido later won the gold medal in the
2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China after beating
Koo Kien Keat and
Tan Boon Heong. Saving 2 match points in the second set, they won 16–21, 26–24, 21–19, winning their first Asian Games gold. Setiawan and Kido ended the 2010 season as finalists in the
Hong Kong Open. This qualified them to compete at the Super Series Finals which would be held in January 2011. In 2011, Setiawan and his partner,
Markis Kido competed at the
2010 BWF Super Series Finals. They were forced to withdraw from the competition after Setiawan sustained knee injuries in a group match. Setiawan then had a title drought in 2011, where he never won any tournaments that year either in the men's doubles with Kido or in the mixed doubles with Russkikh. His best performance at that year was only as semi-finalists in the men's doubles at the
Indonesia,
Japan and
Denmark Open; as well as being semi-finalists in the mixed doubles at the
All England Open. Setiawan and Kido then competed at the
SEA Games, helping the Indonesia men's team to defend their gold medal. In the men's doubles event however, Setiawan and Kido failed to defend their title, winning a silver medal after losing to
Mohammad Ahsan and
Bona Septano in the final. Setiawan-Kido then closed the 2011 season ranked as world number 10. In 2012, apart from competing with Kido in the men's doubles, Setiawan also played in the mixed doubles with new partner
Vita Marissa. Setiawan and Marissa started their debut in Europe tour in February–March, but gave undesiring results after losing in the early rounds at the
German,
All England and
Swiss Opens. His best achievements with Marissa were reaching the quarter-finals at the
Singapore Open. In men's doubles, Setiawan and Kido clinched the men's doubles title at the
Australia and Singapore Open. However, they did not obtain enough points to compete at the
2012 Summer Olympics in London. Setiawan then split up with Kido at the end of 2012. Later, Setiawan decided to rejoin the Indonesia national training center, and paired up with a new partner,
Mohammad Ahsan, which he had previously been paired with in team competitions and international tournaments. They made their individual event debut at the
Denmark Open, and finished as the semi-finalists after being defeated by
Shin Baek-cheol and
Yoo Yeon-seong of Korea. They later won five tournaments in a row, starting in the
Australia Open in April; the
Indonesia and
Singapore Opens in June, with another victory against Ko and Lee in both tournaments; the
BWF World Championships in August; and later at the
Japan Open in September. At the World Championships, they won the title without dropping a single set to their opponents on the way to the final. They then suffered back-to-back losses to Lee yong-dae with his new partner,
Yoo Yeon-seong, in the final of the
Denmark Open, first round of the
China Open, and in the semi-finals of the
Hong Kong Open. In December, they clinched the season-ending tournament title, the
BWF Superseries Finals, defeating Koreans
Kim Gi-jung and
Kim Sa-rang in straight games. For their achievements in 2013, Setiawan and Ahsan took the number one position in the BWF world ranking in November 2013. In March 2014, Setiawan and Ahsan won the
All England Open after beating the Japanese pairing of
Hiroyuki Endo and
Kenichi Hayakawa in the final. This was their first All England title for both Setiawan and Ahsan as a pair. Later, they were included in the Indonesian squad at the
2014 Thomas Cup in New Delhi. At the Thomas Cup, Setiawan and Ahsan won their first match against Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong, leading Indonesia to a 3–2 win in the quarter-finals tie against South Korea. Indonesia was then defeated by Malaysia in the semi-finals. Setiawan and Ahsan again lost to Lee and Yoo in the finals of the
Japan and
Indonesia Opens. They then recorded their second win over the Korean pair Lee and Yoo in the men's doubles final of the
2014 Asian Games, claiming Setiawan's second Asian Games gold. In November, Setiawan and Ahsan won the
Hong Kong Open. They later played at an invitational tournament, named "Glory to the King", and won the men's doubles title after beating the home pair of
Bodin Isara and
Pakkawat Vilailak in the final. Setiawan and Ahsan won three titles in 2015, the
Malaysia Open,
BWF World Championships, and at the
Dubai World Superseries Finals. They defeated Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong in the final of the Malaysia Open in April. At the
Asian Championships, they failed to captured the title, losing to Lee and Yoo in the final in a close rubber game. At the
Sudirman Cup, in the semi-final, Setiawan and Ahsan, defeated the four-time World Champions
Cai Yun and
Fu Haifeng in their opening match, but China took the next 3 matches to win 3–1 in their overall tie. Setiawan and Ahsan then lost in the semi-finals of the
Indonesia and
Chinese Taipei Opens. The duo then won their second World Championships title as a pair (third for Setiawan), after winning the
2015 BWF World Championships in their home country. They defeated Lee and Yoo in straight games in the semi-finals and in the final, they defeated the Chinese pair of
Liu Xiaolong and
Qiu Zihan 21–17, 21–14. After the World Championships, they were unable to win a title for the rest for the year, with their best results being semi-finalists at the
French Open and
Hong Kong Open. Setiawan and Ahsan won their second season-ending title at the Dubai World Superseries Finals after defeating
Chai Biao and
Hong Wei in the final. Setiawan opened the 2016 season by winning the
Thailand Masters with
Mohammad Ahsan. He played at the
Asia Team Championships, and led the Indonesia team to the finals. In the finals, Indonesia won the title after beating Japan in the final. Later, Setiawan and Ahsan competed at the
Thomas Cup, and the team finished runner-up to Denmark. In August, Setiawan made his second appearance at the Olympic Games by competing in
Rio 2016. Partnering with Ahsan as the second seed, the duo were eliminated in the group stage. While competing in 2016 with Ahsan, the pair's performance showed a decline compared to previous years, resulting in the
Badminton Association of Indonesia deciding to split up the pair in the end of the 2016 season, each of them focusing on their individual careers with different partners. Setiawan tried to pair up with
Rian Agung Saputro and
Berry Angriawan, but the pairs did not perform up to standard and failed to deliver results. On 14 November, Setiawan announced his retirement from the national team, and left the team on 1 December.
2017: Partnership with Tan Boon Heong After leaving the national team and playing as an independent player, he partnered up with his former rival,
Tan Boon Heong, from Malaysia in 2017. They reached a career-high-rank of 20th on 30 November 2017. The only final the duo made was in the
Australian Open, where they lost to
Takeshi Kamura and
Keigo Sonoda of Japan, 17–21, 19–21. They split up after Setiawan was denied by
PBSI of playing together with Tan in the
2018 World Championships.
2018–2019: Regrouping with Ahsan; second All England title and fourth World Championships title In 2018, Setiawan rejoined the Indonesia national training squad as an internship player. He first paired with
Rian Agung Saputro to compete at the
Indonesia Masters, but the duo were defeated by their compatriots
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and
Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in the second round. Setiawan and Saputro also played at the
2018 Asia Team Championships, where Indonesia thrashed China 3–1 to retain the title. Later in February, Setiawan reunited with
Mohammad Ahsan and played at the
India Open, and they were beaten again by Gideon and Sukamuljo in the semi-finals. To collect BWF ranking points, Setiawan and Ahsan participated at the lower-graded
Malaysia International Challenge, and emerged victorious after defeating the home pair of
Aaron Chia and
Soh Wooi Yik in the final. At the
2018 Thomas Cup, the Indonesia men's team failed to win the title after losing out to China 1–3 in the semi-finals. In July, Setiawan and Ahsan won the
Singapore Open by beating
Ou Xuanyi and
Ren Xiangyu of China in the finals. In the rest of 2018 tournaments, Setiawan and Ahsan best results were being semi-finalists in the
Denmark,
Fuzhou China, and the
Hong Kong Opens. The duo qualified to compete at the
World Tour Finals, but at that tournament, they were eliminated in the group stage. He and his partner ended the 2018 season ranked as world number 9. Setiawan and Ahsan were one of the most dominant pairs in the 2019 season, where they entered 11 finals and became the first men's doubles pair to win 3 major titles in a year. Their achievements started at the
Indonesia Masters, when the duo finished runner-up to their junior compatriots Gideon and Sukamuljo. The first victory came at the
All England Open, when they defeated Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the final. This was their second All England title as a pair. They then lost in the finals of the
Singapore Open to
Takeshi Kamura and
Keigo Sonoda of Japan. Setiawan and Ahsan captured their second World Tour title of the year at the
New Zealand Open when they beat Japanese pairing of
Hiroyuki Endo and
Yuta Watanabe in the final in a close rubber game. Setiawan also participated in his fifth
Sudirman Cup, and took the bronze medal after Indonesia being defeated by Japan in the semi-finals. In July, they reached two finals, the
Indonesia Open and
Japan Open, both being runner-ups after losing to Gideon and Sukamuljo in both tournaments. In late August, Setiawan captured his fourth
World Championships title. He and Ahsan defeated the up-and-coming Japanese duo
Takuro Hoki and
Yugo Kobayashi in the final. The final was held on Setiawan's birthday, making him the oldest player to have won a World Championships title at the age of 35 years and 0 days. Later in the final of the
China and
Denmark Opens, they became runner-ups again after losing to Gideon and Sukamuljo. Setiawan and Ahsan have never won a match against Gideon and Sukamuljo in the last 5 meetings in 2019. At the end of the year, Setiawan and Ahsan defeated Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe, 24–22, 21–19 in straight games to win the
BWF World Tour Finals.
2020–2022: First Thomas Cup title Setiawan and his partner,
Mohammad Ahsan opened the 2020 season as semi-finalists in the
Malaysia Masters. They then reached the finals of the
Indonesia Masters, but still were unable to overcome Gideon and Sukamuljo and lost in straight games. At the
All England Open, the duo were unable to defend the title after losing in the quarter-finals to Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe. In January 2021, Setiawan and Ahsan competed at the 2020 Asian Leg tournament held in Thailand. They first reached the quarter-finals in the
Yonex Thailand Open, and then finished as semi-finalists in the
Toyota Thailand Open. The duo qualified to play at the
BWF World Tour Finals, and reached the final after being able to avenge the defeat to the Korean pair
Choi Sol-gyu and
Seo Seung-jae from the Yonex Thailand Open, but lost the finals to the Chinese Taipei pair
Lee Yang and
Wang Chi-lin who previously beat them at the Toyota Thailand Open. In July 2021, Setiawan made his third appearance at the Summer Olympics, at
Tokyo 2020. Competing with
Mohammad Ahsan as the 2nd seeds, he finished fourth after being defeated by Malaysia's
Aaron Chia and
Soh Wooi Yik in the bronze medal match. In October, at
Aarhus, Denmark, Setiawan finally added the Thomas Cup to his grand list of achievements, where the Indonesian team beat China in the final 3–0, claiming Indonesia's first title in 19 years. Their best results in the rest of 2021 season were reaching the quarter-finals in the
French Open and the
Hylo Open. Setiawan and Ahsan began the 2022 season as finalists in the
India Open. In March, they stormed into their third
All England final, losing to compatriots
Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and
Bagas Maulana in the final. At the
Korea Open, they lost in the semi-finals to
Seo Seung-jae and
Kang Min-hyuk. They then reached their second final of the year in the
Malaysia Masters, but lost to compatriots
Fajar Alfian and
Muhammad Rian Ardianto in the final in straight games. Later in August, Setiawan and Ahsan entered their fourth
BWF World Championships final as a pair. They lost to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in straight games, 19–21, 14–21, after initially leading 19–16 in the first game, losing in 40 minutes. The duo qualified to play at the
BWF World Tour Finals, and reached the final but lost to the 4th seed Chinese pair
Liu Yuchen and
Ou Xuanyi.
2023: Climbing back from struggles Setiawan and his partner,
Mohammad Ahsan opened the 2023 season at the
Malaysia Open, but they were defeated in the quarter-finals round to the Korean pair of
Kang Min-hyuk and
Seo Seung-jae. In the next tournament the following week, Ahsan and Setiawan lost in he first round of
India Open to the unseeded Chinese pair
Liang Weikeng and
Wang Chang. Afterwards, in their home tournament,
Indonesia Masters, Ahsan and Setiawan lost in the second round to juniors and eventual champions
Leo Rolly Carnando and
Daniel Marthin. With the Indonesian federation skipping the
German Open, Setiawan resumed competition at the
All England in March. Him and Ahsan managed to create an all-Indonesian final and finished as runner-ups to
Fajar Alfian and
Muhammad Rian Ardianto. Setiawan competed at the
Asian Championships in
Dubai, but lost in quarter-finals to eventual champions
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and
Chirag Shetty. In May, Setiawan competed in the second Asian Tour at the
Malaysia Masters. Unfortunately, he lost in the quarter-finals from eventual finalist Malaysian youngster
Man Wei Chong and
Tee Kai Wun. In June, Setiawan competed at the
Singapore Open, but lost in the second round to Korean pair
Choi Sol-gyu and
Kim Won-ho. In the next tour, they competed at the home tournament,
Indonesia Open, but lost in the second round from their compatriot Indonesian pair
Pramudya Kusumawardana and
Yeremia Rambitan in three games. In July, Setiawan competed at the
Canada Open, but lost in the quarter-finals from 5th seed Chinese Taipei pair
Lee Yang and
Wang Chi-lin. In the East Asian Tour, he competed at the
Japan Open, but lost in the quarter-finals against 1st seed fellow Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto for second times this year. In early August, Setiawan competed at the
Australian Open, but lost in the second round from Taiwanese pair
Lu Ching-yao and
Yang Po-han in straight games. He was unfortunately unable to secure another
World Championships medal after exiting in the quarter-finals to Korean pair Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae in straight games.
2024-2025: Retirement from international badminton Setiawan's final playing year in 2024 was marked with multiple first- and second-round exits, with only a single final appearance at the Australian Open. Him and Ahsan lost to China's
He Jiting/
Ren Xiangyu in the finals. Setiawan announced his retirement from international badminton in December 2024. His final appearance was at home tournament
Indonesia Masters in January 2025, where him and Ahsan were honored with a tribute ceremony and an exhibition match against
Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and
Seo Seung-jae. In March 2025, Setiawan began coaching fellow independent players
Sabar Karyaman Gutama/
Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani. A month later, he was appointed as the Deputy Executive Director of PB Jaya Raya, his former badminton club. Setiawan competed at the
2025 BWF World Senior Championships di Bangkok, Thailand. He won two titles: one in the 40+ men's doubles with
Tony Gunawan and another in the 35+ mixed doubles with
Debby Susanto. == Personal life ==