Jonatan Christie: All you need to know about the shuttler that stands between Lakshya Sen and the round of 16 at the Paris Olympics
Jonatan Christie is the biggest hurdle that Lakshya Sen will have to face at the Paris Olympics to make it through to the elimination stages. The duo are scheduled to take on each other on Wednesday, July 31 in what promises to be an enthralling encounter.
Christie has been a part of the BWF circuit for over a decade now, having won his first title in 2013 at the age of 15. After a few more years of lone wins here and there, the Indonesian had his breakout season in 2018.
That year, in front of a roaring home crowd, the shuttler stormed to a gold at the Jakarta Asian Games taking down first seed Shi Yu Qui in his opening round, eighth seed Kenya Nishimoto in the semifinals, and fourth seed Chou Tien Chen in the finals.
After 2019, which saw him soar to the World No.6 title, Jonatan Christie had a lukewarm 2020 and 2021, failing to win a single individual event. He ended that title drought in 2022 with a top-of-the-podium finish at the Swiss Open and claimed silver at both the Korea Open as well as the Badminton Asia Championships.
2023 saw Christie win his first Super 500 and Super 750 title amid some first-round exits. While the string of early exits followed him in early 2024, the Indonesian redeemed himself in the Olympic year with a title finish at the All England and Badminton Asia Championships.
Jonatan Christie at the Paris Olympics
Jonatan Christie has been in action only once so far at the Paris Olympics. He played Germany's Julien Carraggi for his opening round match, coming from a game down to claim the win. He was next slated to face Kevin Cordon, but the Guatemalan pulled out of the competition due to injury.
Now, Christie will take on Lakshya Sen for his final group stage match of the Games. Back in 2020 Tokyo, the Indonesian had made it past the group stage matches only to be knocked out in the round of 16 itself, and he'll be gunning for a more memorable finish in Paris.