China Masters 2024: Jonathan Qualifies For Semifinals

JAKARTA The men's singles badminton player Jonatan Christie stopped the host representative Lei Lan Xi from reaching the semifinals of the 2024 China Masters.

The sixth seed won two games 21-17 and 21-17 over his opponent within 51 minutes at Shenzhen Gymnasium, China, on Friday, November 22, 2024, evening WIB.

This is Jonathan's second win of a total of three clashes between them and the second in a row. One victory he previously took place at the 2024 China Open in September.

At that time, Jonathan defeated Lei in the same round and in a duel of two straight games too. Prior to the tournament, Lei had already stopped him in the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open 2024.

"A slight change in pattern at a few points was done earlier. How to survive first, let him attack or immediately take the initiative to attack," said Jonathan.

This is the fifth semifinal that Jonathan has achieved since the 2024 Paris Olympics. Apart from the Hong Kong and China Open 2024, he also reached the same round at the 2024 Japan Masters' Arctic Open and Kumamoto.

However, he was only able to get through one semi-final in the previous four occasions. It happened at the 2024 Arctic Open which ended in the runner-up title.

Jonathan admitted that he was consistent in several of these latest tournaments thanks to the birth of his baby in August 2024.

"The aspirations of him make me on the field more calm, enjoy points by points in a match, regardless of the results. I can be more grateful," said Jonatan.

In the semifinals tomorrow, November 23, 2024, Jonathan will face a tough test from the first seed from China, Shi Yuqi. This will be the 15th competitive meeting between the two badminton players.

In the previous 14 clashes, Jonathan also narrowly won 8-6. In the two most recent duels, the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist always came out victorious.