Jakarta. Indonesia is guaranteed a title in the All England men’s singles after Jonatan Christie secured a place in the final on Saturday to play compatriot Anthony Ginting.

Neither player has ever reached the semifinal stage of the All England tournament before this year. It has been 22 years since Indonesia had a player in the men’s singles final.

Jonatan defeated Lakshya Sen 21-12, 10-21, 21-15 in the semifinal match at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, producing the ninth all-Indonesian final in the men’s singles of the prestigious badminton tournament.

He managed to recover from a lousy second game marred with unforced errors and nervousness, returning to his attacking play in the deciding game to overcome the Indian shuttler.

In another semifinal match earlier in the day, Anthony defeated Christo Popov, who made history by becoming the first French men’s singles semifinalist in the All England, also in three games, 19-21, 21-5, 21-11.

The last time the All England featured two Indonesian players in the men’s singles final was 30 years ago when Hariyanto Arbi beat Ardy Bernardus Wiranata.

It’s a great day for Indonesian badminton, as reigning champions Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto also advanced to the men’s doubles final by beating the Japanese duo of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-18, 21-18.

They will face the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, who secured a straight-game win over Taiwanese players Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan in the earlier match.

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