Jakarta. Indonesian men's singles player Jonatan Christie has reached the semifinals of the China Open 2024 badminton tournament after defeating local favorite Lei Lan Xi. Competing in the quarterfinals at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou, China, on Friday, Christie won in straight games, 21-18, 21-12.

In the semifinals, Christie will face the winner of the match between Anders Antonsen and Weng Hong Yang. Reflecting on his performance, Christie said, "The key in the first game was handling the less favorable side of the court. I made some mistakes but continued to take the initiative and stay ahead in the front game."

The seventh seed expressed gratitude for reaching the semifinals again, saying, "I’m thankful to have reached the semifinals after last week's Hong Kong Open. I also made it to the semifinals here last year. I hope to perform even better tomorrow."

In mixed doubles, the Indonesian pair Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja also advanced to the semifinals by defeating Malaysia's Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin with scores of 21-14 and 21-9. This match took place earlier on Friday at the same venue.

"This year has been tough for us, so returning to the semifinals of a Super 1000 tournament is a significant achievement," Dejan said.

Gloria added, "We are quite satisfied with our performance today, as reaching the semifinals is our best result this year. However, we want more and will fight as hard as possible tomorrow."