NEW DELHI: The fortunes have turned for the good for Jonatan Christie ever since the birth of his son in 2024. The Indonesian shuttler, motivated by his son, has been operating with a different energy inside the court. To give more time to his family, he had made the big call to compete as an independent player last year. Following that decision, there was a dip in performance at the start but Christie has gradually been thriving at the BWF World Tour.
The ongoing India Open is also proving to be a solid run for the Indonesian star, who had failed to play to his potential during the 2024 Paris Games. A little over a year or so after his son's birth, he's now in a different place at the moment. That touch is back, there's a good flow in his game and most importantly, he is managing to get the wins against top rivals. If he wins on Sunday, it will be fourth since last September. The 28-year-old, who beat Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 22-20, will be up against Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei in the title decider. It goes without saying he's happy to be making notable strides.
"Loh is a very good player. Today (Saturday), he was doing very well. I just wanted to give my best in this match," Christie said after his victory on Saturday.
Even last week in Malaysia, Christie had shown signs of promise before exiting in the semifinal stage. With his family in mind, he'll have the extra determination to finish the job against Lin, who has also had quite a tournament. Lin saw off Victor Lai of Canada in the other semifinal.
In the mixed doubles, top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China were beaten by Thai combination of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran. They'll be up against the Danish combination of Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje, a pair that has been on the rise ever since reuniting last year, in the final.
