BIRMINGHAM – Indonesia will have its first All England men’s singles champion since 1994, after Anthony Ginting and Jonatan Christie booked their final spots on March 16.
Both players had previously never advanced past the quarter-finals. The last Indonesian to reach the men’s singles final was Budi Santoso in 2002.
Ginting followed up his upset of world No. 1 and two-time champion Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals by reaching his maiden All England Open final first.
The world No. 5 beat another European in the last four, after bouncing back from losing the first set to France’s 24th-ranked Christo Popov to ease to a 19-21, 21-5, 21-11 win in 1hr 15min.
The 27-year-old told the Indonesian media: “Grateful and happy today, not only because of the win but being able to manage everything well on the court.
“Being able to maintain focus well from the start of the match to the end is important, too, because if you can play well and can solve all the problems, the chances of success are greater.”
Not long after, 26-year-old world No. 9 Jonatan Christie joined him in the showpiece, beating India’s world No. 18 Lakshya Sen, the 2022 finalist, 21-12, 10-21, 21-15 in the other semi-final.
Despite the legendary Rudy Hartono holding the record for most All England men’s singles crowns – eight in total and seven in a row from 1968 to 1974 – Indonesia have not taken this prestigious title since Hariyanto Arbi won an all-Indonesian final against Ardy Bernardus Wiranata 30 years ago.
Having waited so long for an Indonesian men’s singles champion, the badminton-mad nation now has another all-Indonesian, All England final on March 17.
After an even start to the opening game of the first semi-final, which saw the scores tied at 7-7, Popov stayed out in front until Ginting managed to even the scores again at 17-17 and then 19-19.
But the 22-year-old Frenchman regrouped to take the first game.
Ginting had also lost the first set in his quarter-final to Axelsen, before roaring back at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena to win 8-21, 21-18, 21-19 on March 15.
The next two games against Popov were nowhere near as close as a day earlier against the Dane, though. Ginting was in total control, conceding just 16 points during that period.
At one point, he scored 13 consecutive points against Popov, Europe’s third-ranked player.
The 2023 Asian champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist had said after the quarter-finals: “Of course, the All England is one of the most prestigious tournaments that every player wants to get, but I don’t want to think too much.”
Like in the men’s singles, there will be a new women’s singles champion after South Korea’s world No. 1 An Se-young crashed out in the semi-finals following a 21-10, 19-21, 21-14 loss to fourth-ranked Akane Yamaguchi.
It was a repeat of the 2022 final, which the 26-year-old Japanese won 21-15, 21-15. She will face either third-ranked Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei or Spain’s world No. 5 Carolina Marin. The match took place after press time.
Tai reached four straight finals from 2017 to 2020, losing only one to Chen Yufei in 2019, while Marin won the 2015 All England crown.
The women’s doubles final will see fifth-ranked Japanese pair Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, the 2022 champions, take on South Korea’s world No. 2s Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, who were losing finalists in 2023.
