2024 Paris Badminton Tournament: Jonatan Christie and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting Jointly Eliminated
Jayce
It was a tough day for Indonesia.
The nation’s All England defending champion and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist were eliminated in the group stage of the 2024 Paris Badminton Tournament, with Jonatan Christie and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting both suffering defeats on Wednesday, July 31
In the morning, Christie lost to Julian Carraggi with scores of 18-21, 21-11, 21-16. A few hours later, Ginting met a similar fate, losing 21-19, 17-21, 21-15 to French player Thomas Popov.
The La Chapelle Arena was the loudest it had been since the tournament started four days ago when Popov won match point. He remains the only player from the host country to advance to the knockout stages across the five events.
Third-seeded Christie and ninth-seeded Ginting were both strong medal contenders. Unfortunately, their performances fell short of expectations, much to the dismay of their ardent supporters back home.
“My game started well, but after scoring a few points, I became impatient, and then Sen caught up,” a frustrated Christie told reporters. “When the scores were tight, my mistakes in the last few points of the first game were crucial. In the second game, he was more confident and energetic.
“I tried to pressure him bravely, but a few times my shots went off target. My emotions are still mixed, and I can’t quite express them.”
Win or lose, Ginting always carries a smile, but today it was a strained one, which is understandable.
“I’m very disappointed and unsettled by my result,” Ginting said. “I mean, I’m satisfied with my performance today. I gave my all on the court, but perhaps it wasn’t enough to win today’s match.
“I think Thomas performed much better than I did today. It wasn’t easy to score any points against him, and yes, he pushed me as much as he could, especially in the third game.
“I tried to shake off the pressure he was giving, but I don’t know… I just finished, so I can’t think straight. I don’t know.”
On the last day of group stage matches, all top-seeded singles players advanced, except for Christie, Ginting, and Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying, the Tokyo women’s silver medalist, who lost in straight sets to Ratchanok Intanon.
