Indonesia Masters 2023: Jonatan Christie Kandaskan Lakshya Sen, Next Meet Shi Yuqi In The Semifinals

Indonesian men's singles, Jonatan Christie. (Photo: Ulfa Gusti Utami/VOI)

JAKARTA - Men's singles Jonatan Christie defeated India's Lakshya Sen to reach the semifinals of the Indonesia Masters 2023.

Jonatan got the top four tickets after fighting 62 minutes to win with a score of 15-21, 21-10, and 21-13 at the Istora Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta, Friday, January 27, 2023.

"First, thank God, it can be done through a match that is not easy. With a tight defense and agile players and attacks that are so good, but I can handle it," said Jonathan after the match.

Jonathan played tight at six points in the early days of the first game. However, he was even four points behind in the interval.

After the rest, the owner of the 2018 Asian Games gold medal rose and identified the score to 15-15. However, Lakshya produced six consecutive points after that successfully closed the first game.

After 2-2 at the start of the second game, Jonathan immediately generated nine consecutive points to take the lead at the break.

The difference in numbers so far made it difficult for Lakshya Sen to cut it. Jonathan continued to move away until he forced the match to continue into the third game.

Three consecutive points at the start of the third game gave Jonathan a 5-1 lead. He was then chased by his opponent, but the next four consecutive points gave him a five-point lead at the break.

Lakshya got up and reduced the distance to just one point. However, he could only add three numbers after that.

In the second round, Jonathan will meet Chinese representative Shi Yuqi, who sent his compatriot Lu Guang Zu home. So far, Jonathan has won 5-4 out of nine meetings with Shi Yuqi.

"Yes, for sure, he is a good player, the best in the world. Last year he did not participate in many championships so he was ranked down, but still he is good. The quality can't be lied to," said Jonathan.

Indonesia can add a semifinal ticket if Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo can win over Brian Yang (Canada). The two players had not played when this news was written.

Unfortunately, Jonathan's success was not followed by the men's doubles pair Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. The 2022 All England champions were beaten by the 2021 Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi (Japan) world champion with a score of 11-21, 13-21.