Ningbo: Indonesia’s men’s singles World No. 5 Jonatan Christie said his victory at the 2024 Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) and previously at the 2024 All England will serve as a boost for his consistency in upcoming important tournaments.
Highlights of Jonatan Christie vs. Li Shifeng in the 2024 BAC final:
“I didn’t expect to become champion again after winning the All England this year. It’s a booster to my morale so that in the future I can be more consistent and better in terms of performance and everything,” said Christie.
Christie emerged as the champion of BAC 2024 after defeating home representative and World No. 7 Li Shi Feng in straight games, 21-15, 21-16, in the final held in Ningbo, China.
The third-seeded player in the tournament considered his victory in the final match to be the result of the faster-paced playing strategy he implemented.
“Because I saw Li Shi Feng was quite tired after yesterday’s match in the semifinals. His legs also looked sore. I took advantage of that momentum to push him so that he wouldn’t find his momentum,” explained Christie.
The 2023 French Open champion said he was proud to defeat two Chinese-seeded players on their home turf (No. 1 seed Shi Yuqi in the semifinals, and No. 5 seed Li Shi Feng in the final). Christie admitted that the atmosphere of the match in front of the Chinese audience was quite intense and challenging, both physically and mentally.
“As for facing the home audience, I was well-prepared from the beginning. The fact was, we still had to play the match and couldn’t walk over,” said Christie.
“Counting it as adding experience because it’s not easy to compete against an opponent on their home turf, similar to Indonesian spectators. I’m quite happy to defeat Li Shi Feng and Shi Yu Qi on their home ground,” Christie added.
Despite disappointment in men’s singles, China won the men’s doubles through Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang after they beat Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia 21-17, 15-21, 21-10.
China also kept the women’s singles and mixed doubles trophy at home through Wang Zhi Yi and Feng Yanzhe/Huang DongPing.
Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee saw off Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu 23-21, 21-12 to claim the women’s doubles crown.
