Jonatan Christie Wins Hong Kong Open After Defeating Kenta Nishimoto
- twitter.com/INABadminton
Hong Kong – The Indonesian men's singles badminton player, Jonatan Christie successfully defeated Kenta Nishimoto from Japan on Sunday, and he became the first Indonesian to win the Hong Kong Open men's singles title in 25 years.
In this match, Christie had played difficulties from the start against Nishimoto. Then, Nishimoto managed to lead the points since the beginning of the match with a score of 3-0, 4-2, 5-3.
Until it ended in the first round, Jonatan Christie lost with a score of 21-12.
Losing the first game made Christie try to catch up. Initially, he was superior with a score of 7-4 at the start of the second game. However, Nishimoto did not let the advantage and made the score even 8-8.
Tunggal putra Jepang, Kenta Nishimoto
- AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit
Christie made several mistakes in returning the shuttlecock, thus making Nishimoto superior 13-13, 14-12.
When in a situation of superior points, Nishimoto chose to play patiently. It made Christie equalize the score to a draw of 16-16.
The situation made Nishimoto flinch. He stepped on the gas again and managed to gain two additional points. Christie made the match exciting because he successfully turned the score 19-18.
The fierce competition between the two badminton players was very fierce at the end of the second game. Christie managed to win it with a 22-20 advantage, thus making his way to the third round.
In the third game, Christie played confidently and could lead the points first.
Christie had made two mistakes that put Nishimoto ahead 11-13. A fierce match again occurred between the two. But Christie was able to catch up.
As time went on, Christie and Nishimoto had made the score even 17-17. Unfortunately, Christie's imperfect shuttlecock return made her opponent increase the score to 18-17.
But Nishimoto's punch then went wide and the score was tied again 18-18.
After going through a fierce match towards the end of the match, Jonatan Christie managed to win the match with a score of 21-18 in the third game. This score made Jonatan Christie became the winner of Hong Kong 2023.
