How marriage and psychologists help drive Jonatan Christie
The world number six, who got married earlier this month, has not yet been able to spend much time with his new wife as the Indonesian prepared to head to Hangzhou for the World Tour Finals.
Badminton
How would you prepare for the season-ending tournament in your sport and the chance to be called the Finals champion?
Badminton world number six Jonatan Christie has taken two routes, one normal and the other somewhat different.
In addition to his normal training, the Indonesian has engaged the help of sports psychologists. So far, so normal.
The 26-year-old, nicknamed 'Jojo', has made no secret of his goal to end Viktor Axelsen's stronghold on the BWF World Tour Finals title and prevent the Danish world number one from completing a three-peat, and sports psychologists are just another marginal gain commonly seen in sport nowadays.
However, Christie has something else motivating him: the prospect of his honeymoon and time with his new wife once the competition in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China, concludes.
The Indonesian married his girlfriend Shania Juiananatha, a popstar formerly from Indonesian–Japanese girl group JKT48, on 1 December, with the reception held two days later on the last of his three days off granted to him by the national federation.
However, the Finals second seed opted to continue living at the Indonesian national training centre's dormitories following his wedding to focus on his training for the Finals, which begin on Wednesday (13 December).
"From the start we were committed (to badminton), we have been discussing (my wedding plans) for a long time, even several months ago," Christie said last week. "The honeymoon is pending, maybe after the World Tour Finals first."
And his wife is understanding. "I'm grateful she understands," he added. "I'm committed to the fact that I will live in the dormitory until the Olympics. I go home on Wednesdays or Saturdays but I stay at the national training centre every day, and she really understands."
How Christie plans to take down Axelsen
Christie has been drawn into Group B in Hangzhou, being paired with world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Denmark's Anders Antonsen, and China's Li Shifeng. It means that any contest against the Olympic champion Axelsen will not occur until the semi-finals at the earliest, if both men qualify.
The Indonesian has been carrying a leg injury, which forced him to miss the recent China Masters tournament. He told reporters last week he felt "90 percent fit".
"Just taking care of (the injury) for the past few days, so that (in Hangzhou) we can play optimally," Christie added.
Optimal or not, Christie has another trick up his sleeve: not one, but two different sports psychologists.
"Maybe psychological help can help a little during the matches," he said.
"I have a personal (psychologist) and one from PBSI (Indonesia's badminton federation) too, who keeps in contact too. With the psychologists' help, there are many things I now know that I never even thought about before," Christie added.
"I always discuss my daily life, on the court, in training, and even my recent meetings with Axelsen. In the past, maybe I didn't understand, it turns out [Axelsen] did this or that. There are many things that turned out to be moments or lessons that I didn't know about before," he revealed.
Christie at the 2023 BWF World Tour Finals
Christie is the second seed for the Finals based on his strong World Tour results this year.
The Indonesian holds winning head-to-head records against all three of his group opponents.
He has never lost in four meetings to Li, holds a narrow 4–3 advantage over Kunlavut, and has beaten Antonsen five times in eight clashes.
Kunlavut awaits in Christie's first group match on Wednesday.
The tournament is available to watch live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app in selected territories.