(Blibli Indonesia Open) Jonatan: There are Hopes

Jonatan Christie (Indonesia) anticipating return shots. (PIC: PBSI)
Jonatan Christie (Indonesia) anticipating return shots. (PIC: PBSI)
Indonesia Open ‐ Created by Imansyah Noorwihadi

Jakarta | After taking home the title from New Zealand Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 300 and Australian Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 300, Jonatan Christie receives a lot of support and motivation before the start of Blibli Indonesia Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 1000 that will be held in Istora Senayan, Jakarta from 16 to 21 July. Jonatan is hoped to be one of the key players for the Indonesian Men’s Singles team, along with Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

“There are hopes, praise to god that this increases not only my spirit but also the spirit all the players in Indonesian Men’s Singles team. We hope to be braver on the court and be brave to show all of our qualities. This is a challenge for me, because my personal target is to actually win the title on the Super 750 or Super 1000 level,” said Jonatan Christie.

“In my opinion, there are other Indonesian players that have bigger chance to be the champion, such as Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Ferlandi Gideon. The public has expectation in me, maybe because of the positive result in New Zealand and Australia, hopefully this turns into prayers for me,” He added.

Furthermore, Jonathan hopes that he will not disappoint the Indonesian badminton lovers that have always supported him before playing in Blibli Indonesia Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 1000. “Every player participating in the tournament is hoping to be the champion, but we all have to be realistic. In terms of rank, I am currently on the top 8 rank, so at least I hope to make it to the quarterfinal. The opponents on the first and second round are not easy,” He said.

“I will try to focus on how to enjoy my own game, I shall not think too much about getting to this or that round, if I lose then I fail, this may be a boomerang for me. I admit that I have not been fully mature in terms of mind set, unlike Kevin/Marcus that have won a lot of titles. They can set the right mindset, such as setting the target to be the champion. I want to focus on each of the match first,” said Jonatan.

Four days before Blibli Indonesia Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 1000, Jonatan claimed that the preparation has been going well. “The preparation is more or less the same with the ones for the other tournament, training for technique and fitness. The difference is that, this time we had a longer break for preparation, that’s why some times ago all the Men’s Singles players took this time to refresh our mind in Bali,” He said.

On the other hand, on the first round of Blibli Indonesia Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 1000, Jonatan will face the Danish player, Rasmus Gemke.

“I have played against him during the last Indonesia Masters, and there was a moment where I fell far from him during the first set but luckily I could make a recovery. His type of play is similar to the other Danish players, they play with a high tempo, and they rarely play long rallies like Kento Momota. They often do drives, lobs and smashes so I anticipate that kind of pattern,” He added.