Kumamoto Japan Masters 2024: Jonathan Comeback To Beat Lee Zii Jia

Jonatan Christie passed Lee Zii Jia to the semifinals of the Japanese Kumamoto Masters 2024 (doc. PBSI).

JAKARTA Indonesian mainstay men's singles badminton player, Jonatan Christie, rose from behind to reach the semifinals of the 2024 Japanese Kumamoto Masters.

Jonathan lost in the first game against Malaysia's singles, Lee Zii Jia, before making a comeback and closing the match with a score of 12-21, 21-18, and 21-18 on Friday, November 15, 2024, noon WIB.

"Earlier in the first and second games I played impatient, provoked by the opponent's game. I followed the rhythm of Lee Zii Jia's game too much," said Jonathan after the match.

At the beginning of the first game, Jonathan actually performed well and had a 5-3 lead. However, the situation changed quickly when Lee Zii Jia scored eight consecutive points to lead the interval.

In the second game, Jonathan also had a chance to excel early before the opponent dominated most of the game. Luckily, he was able to get out of the pressure at the final points and force the match to continue into the third game.

"It's not my best game, but Praise God it can get out of the pressure from the difficult situation. I feel this is something good in a match," said Jonathan.

In the semifinals tomorrow, November 16, 2024, Jonathan will meet the winner from Leong Jun Hao (Malaysia) or second seed Kodai Naraoka (Japan). The two singles had not played when this news was written.

"After this, of course, I want to rest first, relax a little after tensions since last night. Just prepare for the focus again for tomorrow's match," said Jojo, Jonatan's nickname.

Jonathan is one of five Indonesian representatives who have penetrated the quarter-finals of the BWF Super 500 level event, which is only two editions old.