Paris 2024 badminton: Indonesia crushed as Jonatan Christie, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting exit in group play
Not a good day for Indonesia.
The country’s reigning All England champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist crashed out in group play of the Paris 2024 badminton tournament, Jonatan Christie as well as Anthony Sinisuka Ginting losing in three games on Wednesday (31 July).
Christie went down first, to Julien Carraggi 18-21, 21-11, 21-16 in the morning, before Ginting suffered a similar fate hours later at the hands of France’s Toma Popov 21-19, 17-21, 21-15.
When Popov won match point, La Chapelle Arena was the loudest it’s been since competition started four days ago. He is the lone player from the hosts to reach the knockout phase across the five disciplines.
France's Toma Popov was pure joy after eliminating Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia.
Third seed Christie and Ginting, the No. 9 seed, were both tipped to contend for medals. Unfortunately for the two and their diehard fans back home, they came up badly short.
"I started the match well but after a few points I was impatient and then Sen managed to draw level,” a dejected Christie told reporters. “When the points were tight my mistakes in the last points of the first game were crucial. In the second game, he was more confident and had more energy.
"I tried to be brave to press harder but several times my shots went wide. The feelings are still a mix, I can't express it yet."
Win or lose, Ginting never fails to smile. He wore one on his face this afternoon, too, but it looked understandably forced.
“I’m quite disappointed and upset with my result,” Ginting said. “I mean I'm happy with my performance today. I gave my very best on the court but maybe it’s not enough to win the game here today.
“I think Toma was playing so much better than me today. It's not easy to get any one point from him and then yeah, he tried to push me as much as he can especially on the third game.
“I tried to get out from the pressure that he gave, but I don't know… I just finished so I can’t think. I don’t know.”
Elsewhere on the final day of group play, all the top singles seeds emerged winners to go through apart from Christie, Ginting and Tokyo women’s silver medallist Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, who lost to Ratchanok Intanon in straight sets.
All the results in detail can be found here.