Jonatan Christie Triumphs Over Loh Kean Yew in India Open 2026 Semifinals

Christie Advances to Men's Singles Final

In a thrilling semifinal match at the India Open 2026, Jonatan Christie from Indonesia showcased his strategic prowess and composure under pressure, defeating Singapore's Loh Kean Yew, a former world champion. The match, part of the BWF World Tour Super 750 event organized by the Badminton Association of India, took place in New Delhi.

Ranked third, Christie made a remarkable comeback in the first game, overcoming an early deficit of 5-11 to secure victory with scores of 21-18 and 22-20, completing the match in just 46 minutes.

Earlier in the day, world number one An Se Young set the stage for a women's singles final against China's Wang Zhi Yi after defeating Thailand's former champion Ratchnok Intanon with a decisive score of 21-11, 21-7. Wang also advanced by beating her compatriot Chen Yu Fei 21-15, 23-21 in the semifinals.

In the men's singles, Loh started strong, quickly taking an 11-5 lead with aggressive play. However, Christie adapted by engaging Loh in longer rallies, which led to errors from his opponent. Christie rallied to tie the score at 15-15 and clinched the first game with a series of quick net plays and powerful smashes.

The second game saw Loh struggling initially but he regained his focus, taking a 17-13 lead. Nevertheless, Christie responded with swift attacks, ultimately needing two match points to secure his win, extending his unbeaten streak against Loh to 9-0.

"In the second game, when Loh started to come back, I held my nerves and adapted to the game better and managed to win," Christie remarked after his victory.

Christie will now face the winner of the other semifinal match between Victor Lai from Canada and Lin Chun-Yi from Chinese Taipei.

Match Results Overview

Men's Singles: 3-Jonatan Christie (INA) defeated 8-Loh Kean Yew (SGP) 21-18, 22-20.

Women's Singles: 1-An Se Young (KOR) defeated 7-Ratchanok Intanon (THA) 21-11, 21-7; 2-Wang Zhi Yi (CHN) defeated 4-Chen Yu Fei (CHN) 21-15, 23-21.

Women's Doubles: 1-Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning (CHN) defeated 6-Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee (KOR) 21-12, 17-21, 21-14; 5-Yuki Fukushima/Mayu Matsumoto (JPN) defeated 2-Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (MAS) 21-16, 21-13.

Mixed Doubles: 3-Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran (THA) defeated 1-Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping (CHN) 16-21, 21-19, 21-16.