Jakarta: World No. 3 Jonatan Christie won the 2023 Indonesia Masters after defeating his compatriot, Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, 21-15, 21-13 at Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday.
This was Christie’s first international title since winning the 2022 Swiss Open, a Super 300 event.
“Thanks to God, I have been waiting for quite a long time and now I can finally experience winning the Super 500 title. Coach Irwan and I were being laughed at when we failed. But we kept trying,” said Christie.
“I really want to thank coach Irwan for believing in me, believing in the team, and we finally able to achieve this. This is the result of our hard work,” added Christie.
The last big tournament that Christie won was the 2018 Asian Games, and he was labeled as a talented young player after that. Unfortunately, after that, he failed in a number of badminton tournaments above the BWF Super 500 level.
He was only able to carve gold at the 2019 New Zealand Open, the 2019 Australian Open, and lastly the 2022 Swiss Open. All three of these tournaments were Super 300 level tournaments.
Last year, Christie reached the final of the Super 500 tournament – the Korea Open but had to settle for being runner-up after being defeated by Weng Hongyang of China.
“Yes, that was one of the challenges for myself. But I believe everyone has their own destiny. There are people who are still young and can win everything. There are those who may have to wait until they are mature, then they can,” continue Christie.
“We don’t know when we will succeed. All we can do is try, that’s what the coach always reminds us of. The important thing is that we try as hard as we can,” stressed Christie.
In the men’s doubles final, Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin were proud to carry the tradition of the Indonesia team by winning the 2023 Indonesia Masters men’s doubles gold.
As the only Indonesia men’s doubles to qualify for the final, Carnando/Marthin successfully defeated He Ji Ting/Zhou Hao Dong in straight games with a score of 21-17. 21-16.
In the women’s singles final, An Se Young overcame Carolina Marin 18-21, 21-18, 21-13 for her second title of 2023. She also won the India Open last Sunday.
Meanwhile, Liu Sheng Shu/Zhang Shu Xian and Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping defeated their respective opponents to win the women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles.
