Jonatan Passes to the Second Round of BAC 2026

JAKARTA - Men's singles badminton player Jonatan Christie managed to secure a ticket to the second round of the Badminton Asia Championship (BAC) or the 2026 Asian Badminton Championship.

The third seed passed his test in the first round in an easy two-game match against Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao with a final score of 21-13 and 21-8 on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.

"Praise God, I am grateful that the results are good and for tomorrow's preparations. So, more to take care of recovery," said Jonatan in a statement received by the media.

Jonatan last year managed to make it to the quarterfinal. He was then stopped in that phase after losing two games against Lu Guangzu from China.

The 2018 Asian Games gold medallist said that he refused to set a target for this year's edition. He admitted that he just wanted to be able to bring out his best abilities.

"My goal is to do the best I can first. I never set too much of a goal, the important thing is to play well and there is improvisation from the game," he said.

In the second round, Thursday, April 9, 2026, Jonatan will meet Yudai Okimoto. The Japanese men's singles secured a ticket to the second round thanks to a victory over Jia Heng Jason Teh from Singapore.

Besides Jonatan, the second round ticket was also secured by Putri Kusuma Wardani. He kept his dream at the Super 1000 level event after defeating Prakriti Bharath (United Arab Emirates).

In the second round, Putri, who is ranked sixth, will face Gao Fang Jie. The Chinese host badminton player got a ticket after defeating Sung Shuo Yun (China Taipei).