JAKARTA - The men's singles badminton player Jonatan Christie, who is the only remaining hope for Indonesia at the 2026 BWF Super 750 India Open, managed to beat Loh Kean Yew to get a ticket to the final round.
Jonatan, who is the third seed in the tournament, qualified for the final stage of the competition after winning the two-game match 21-18 and 21-20 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex on Saturday, January 17, 2026.
"Today Loh Kean Yew played very well, very amazing. Some of the strategies we have prepared, he actually did something different so there were some changes that had to be adjusted earlier," said Jonatan.
The automatic result extends Jonatan's sweet record against the Singaporean men's singles. From a total of nine clashes in the competitive arena, Loh has never won.
Even though he always loses, Loh always makes it difficult for Jonatan in the majority of their clashes. The 2021 world champion shuttler has been recorded six times to force Jonatan to play three games.
Jonatan made a pretty explosive celebration at the end of the latest match as a form of expression of relief to be able to finish the match in two straight games.
"Thank you to the Indonesian friends who came to the stadium to support me. Please also support tomorrow in the final match. And thank you also to the friends from the Indonesian Embassy for their support and prayers until today," said Jonatan.
This is Jonatan's first final this year from the two tournaments he has participated in. Previously, the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist made it to the semifinals of the Malaysia Open last week, but lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
If he wins tomorrow's final, Jonatan will end Indonesia's men's singles title drought, which has lasted for 16 years since Alamsyah Yunus climbed to the highest podium in the 2010 edition.
In tomorrow's final, Jonatan will play against the winner of Victor Lai (Canada) versus Lin Chun-Yi (Taiwan), who have not played their semifinal matches when this news was written.
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