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 Southeast Asian 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 Southeast Asian 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