Australian Open 2023: Jonathan Christie Eliminates Kento Momota

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

JAKARTA Men's singles badminton player Jonatan Christie managed to secure a ticket to the second round of the 2023 Australian Open after defeating former world number one Kento Momota.

Jonathan's journey to reach the second half was quite tough at the Quay Center, Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, August 2, 2023. He had to first lose the first game in the rubber game which ended 21-23, 21-14, and 21-12.

This is Jonathan's second win over Momota from a total of seven meetings between the two badminton players. One previous victory occurred at the Malaysia Open in 2019.

Jonathan, who is the seventh seed in the BWF Super 500 level event, will then be challenged Ng Tze Yong. This Malaysian men's singles qualified for the second round after stopping Kanta Tsuneyama.

Apart from Jonathan, tickets for the second half were also secured by mixed doubles duo Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari and Adnan Maulana/Nita Violina Marwah.

Rinov/Pitha escaped after defeating their compatriot Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, while Adnan/Nita secured victory over Chan Peng Soon/Cheah Yee See from Malaysia.

"Alhamdulillah, we can win. Our pattern of play is in accordance with our wishes. From the start we were sure and don't make mistakes alone. In addition, the focus must also be maintained from start to finish," said Adnan.

Unfortunately, in the tournament with a total prize of 420,000 US dollars, Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo, who appeared in the women's singles, failed to follow in the footsteps of her colleagues. He was eliminated by Supanida Katetong (Thailand), 7-21, 11-21.

"This is my first appearance in the super 500 championship. There are many lessons that can be learned here. The lessons I can get in this championship, I have to be bolder and don't make mistakes yourself," said Ester.