Jonatan Christie

Jonatan Christie
Leonardus Jonatan Christie (born 15 September 1997) is an Indonesian badminton player specializing in the singles discipline affiliated with the Tangkas Specs club. He won the men's singles title at the 2017 SEA Games and at the 2018 Asian Games. Christie was part of Indonesia's winning team at the 2020 Thomas Cup.
Career
Christie was called up to join the Indonesian national team in 2012, after he reached the semi-finals of the 2012 National Championships in Solo, Central Java.
In July 2013, Christie won his first international senior title at 15 years old at the Indonesia International Challenge, after beating the experienced Alamsyah Yunus who is 11 years older than him in the final by 21–17, 21–10.
Christie started the 2014 season as the world number 1 in BWF boys' singles ranking. Although still competing in the junior tournament, Christie again has reached the finals of the senior event in the 2014 Indonesia International Challenge, but he has not managed to defend his title after being defeated by the Korean veteran Lee Hyun-il by 5 sets, 10–11, 11–9, 11–5, 8–11, 3–11. In October, he won the Swiss International.
In 2017, Christie reached the finals of the Thailand Open Grand Prix, and later the Korea Open Super Series event. He was defeated by B. Sai Praneeth in Thailand and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in Korea. In August, he won gold medals at the SEA Games in the men's singles and team event.
In 2018, Christie and the Indonesian men's team managed to defend the Asia Team Championships title after beating China 3–1 in the final. In May, he advanced to the finals of the New Zealand Open, but was beaten by two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan in straight games. At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, he won 21–18, 20–22, 21–15 over Chou Tien-chen and took the badminton men's singles gold medal for Indonesia. In the team event, he helped the Indonesian team earn silver medal.
Christie opened the 2019 season as number 11 in the BWF World ranking. He played at the Malaysia Masters, but had to defeat in the second round to reigning Olympic champion Chen Long, the head-to-head record between the players stood at 0–6. He then lost in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Masters to Anders Antonsen in straight games. In March Europe tour, he fell in the early stages of the All England and Swiss Opens. In April, he advance to the semi-finals os the Malaysia Open beating World number 1 Kento Momota in the second round, and Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals, both in straight games. His pace then was stopped by Chen Long in rubber games. This result allowed him to beat four out of the world's top five men's singles players (Kento Momota, Shi Yuqi, Chou Tien-chen and Viktor Axelsen) in the BWF World rankings. A week later in the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open, Axelsen avenged his previous defeat in a close rubber games, with a score of 24–22, 18–21, and 22–24.
In May 2019, Christie claimed two titles in the Oceania tour, by winning the New Zealand and Australian Opens. Christie then reached the finals of the Super 750 event, the Japan and French Opens. The other results of Christie in 2019 was the semi-finalists in the Hong Kong Open; the quarter-finalists in the Korea, Indonesia, Fuzhou China Opens and the World Championships. His unsatisfactory results came from the China Open and the Asian Championships, where he was defeated in the first round. He then qualified to World Tour Finals, but failed in the group stage. He reached a career high of number four in the BWF World ranking on 6 August 2019.
Christie competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He topped the group G standings after beating Aram Mahmoud and Loh Kean Yew. He lost to Shi Yuqi of China in straight games and was knocked out at the Round of 16.
In September–October 2021, Christie alongside the Indonesian team competed at the 2021 Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland. He played a match in the group stage against Brian Yang of Canada, but was defeated in the rubber games. Indonesia advanced to the knockout stage but lost at the quarterfinals against Malaysia. He made up for his less than favorable performance in the previous tournaments at the 2020 Thomas Cup, notably sealing Indonesia's victory against Denmark at the semifinals in a 100-minute match against Anders Antonsen and against China in the finals against Li Shifeng. He continued his form at the Denmark Open, but was forced to retire from his quarterfinal match against Kento Momota due to a waist injury, which forced him to withdraw from the French Open. During the three tournaments in Bali, Christie was defeated by Srikanth Kidambi at the second round of Indonesia Masters, but bounced back by reaching the semifinals of Indonesia Open. Christie did not qualify for the 2021 BWF World Tour Finals.
2022
Christie started his 2022 season with a second-round exit at German Open. After the tournament, Christie tested positive for COVID-19. Luckily, he tested negative after performing two tests, and was able depart to Birmingham for the All England Open. He lost to Chou Tien-chen in the quarterfinals of All England. Christie later won the Swiss Open, his first BWF World Tour title since 2019. In April, he finished runner-up at the Korea Open to Weng Hongyang of China. He then finished as runner-up of the Badminton Asia Championships against Lee Zii Jia. However, he bowed out of the 2022 BWF World Championships at the quarterfinals. Despite a few more early exits, Christie managed to qualify for the 2022 BWF World Tour Finals and reached the semifinals, where he was defeated by teammate and eventual runner-up Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
2023: Indonesia Masters and Hong Kong Open titles
Christie started the year as 3rd in the BWF World ranking. At the season opener Malaysia Open, he was defeated in the second round by Kenta Nishimoto. In the following week, he reached the semi-finals of India Open, but was eliminated by top seed Viktor Axelsen. Christie then won the Indonesia Masters beating fellow teammate Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, secured his first ever Super 500 title and making it an all-Indonesian men's singles final at that tournament since year 2013. Christie's ups and downs were seen when he often lost in the early rounds to unseeded players; as in the All England Open lost to Weng Hongyang in the first round, in the Malaysia Masters lost to Kenta Nishimoto in the second round, and in the Singapore Open, he lost to Shi Yuqi in the frist round. He reached the quarter-finals in the Indonesia Open, but this time lost to a higher ranked player, 2nd seeded, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. Christie also competed at the 2023 Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, China. He played two matches in the group stage, won against Fabian Roth of Germany, but was defeated by Kunlavut Vitidsarn in rubber games. Indonesia advanced to the knockout stage but lost the quarter-finals to China.
In the second semester of the 2023 season, Christie advanced to the final in the Japan Open. Facing the current world number 1, Viktor Axelsen, he was beaten in two straight games, and had to settle for runner-up position. However, he was crushed by Malaysian player in the second round of the Australian Open to Ng Tze Yong, and in the first round of the World Championships to Lee Zii Jia. He made the semi-finals in the China Open, before falling to Axelsen. Christie then claimed his second title in 2023 by winning the Hong Kong Open, became the first Indonesian to win the men's singles in 25 years. In his third appearance at the Asian Games, he unable to defend the men's singles title and went home without winning a medal where before the team also lost in the quarter-finals.
Personal life
Christie is a devout Roman Catholic. In December 2021, he was officially engaged to former member of JKT48 idol group Shania Junianatha after previously going public about their romantic relationship in 2020.
Christie is active in philanthropy efforts. He donated 1.5 billion Rupiah from winning the 2018 Asian Games to build a mosque and a school in Lombok after an earthquake in the same year. He has also raised funds for various causes, such as for clean water in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesian citizens affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, victims of the Semeru eruption, and education for children at the Bantar Gebang waste area. In January 2023, he initiated a scholarship named Beasiswa Jalincita to fund the education and capacity building of selected recipients.
Filmography
In 2009, he made a supporting cast appearance in badminton-themed film King. The film, directed by Ari Sihasale and dedicated to the legendary Liem Swie King, also featured cameos by many notable badminton players such as King himself, Hariyanto Arbi, Hastomo Arbi, Ellen Angelina, Ivana Lie, Rosiana Tendean, Maria Kristin Yulianti, Fransisca Ratnasari, and in their youth, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, Rafiddias Akhdan Nugroho, Cisita Joity Jansen, Uswatun Khasanah, and Intan Dwi Jayanti.
Awards and nominations
Achievements
Asian Games
Men's singles
Asian Championships
Men's singles
SEA Games
Men's singles
BWF World Tour (6 titles, 5 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's singles
BWF Superseries (1 runner-up)
The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.
Men's singles
BWF Super Series tournament
BWF Superseries Premier tournament
BWF Superseries Finals tournament
BWF Grand Prix (1 runner-up)
The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Men's singles
BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Men's singles
BWF International Challenge tournament
BWF International Series tournament
Performance timeline
National team
Junior level
Senior level
Individual competitions
Junior level
Senior level
Record against selected opponents
Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 17 October 2023.
References
Bibliography
External links
1997 births
Living people
Badminton players from Jakarta
Indonesian male badminton players
Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic badminton players for Indonesia
Badminton players at the 2014 Asian Games
Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games
Badminton players at the 2022 Asian Games
Asian Games gold medalists for Indonesia
Asian Games silver medalists for Indonesia
Asian Games medalists in badminton
Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games
Competitors at the 2015 SEA Games
Competitors at the 2017 SEA Games
Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games
SEA Games gold medalists for Indonesia
SEA Games medalists in badminton