Jonatan Christie became the 2024 All England champion after beating Anthony Sinisuka Ginting with a score of 21-15, 21-14 at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, England, Sunday (17/3/2024). The last time Indonesia had an All England champion in the men’s singles event was in the 1994 edition through Hariyanto Arbi. The legend nicknamed “Smes 100 Watt” became champion after winning over fellow Indonesian representative, namely Ardy B. Wiranata.
Jonatan Christie is proud that he and Anthony Ginting managed to repeat the golden memory of 30 years ago at All England 2024. “What’s even more valuable is that Anthony and I, the men’s singles team, we can finally repeat the history of 30 years ago,” he said in a PBSI statement.
“It’s not easy to achieve, years of hard training, every tournament we fail, we go home and practice again, fail again then practice hard again,” he said. “It was always like that until finally God gave us the fruit today (yesterday),” said Jonathan.
The course of the match
The score was tied at 3-3. However, Jonathan showed a good game after winning five points in a row to change the score to 7-3. Jonathan also continued the positive trend. The world number nine badminton player then led 11-4 in the first game interval.
After halftime, Jojo seemed to be playing at a fast tempo. He often sent smashes into difficult corners of Ginting’s field of play, giving him a 16-10 lead.
After that, Ginting received treatment from the medical team. This is because the Cimahi-born badminton player’s fingers were injured. On the other hand, Jonathan always excelled and wrapped up victory over Ginting in the first game with a score of 21-15.
Continuing to the second game, the match was tight. Jonathan and Ginting took turns stealing points until the points were tied at 6-6. Even so, Jonathan gained momentum. The 26 year old badminton player led 11-9.
After the break, Ginting seemed to have difficulty withstanding the attacks from Jonathan so he fell behind 14-18. Jonathan continues the positive trend. These conditions made Jojo ensure a 21-14 victory over Ginting in the second game.
