Jonatan Christie reaches Hylo Open semi-final to face Anders Antonsen
The Indonesian defending champion beat Japan's Kodai Naraoka in three games and said he would focus on the next match rather than the title.
Indonesia's Jonatan Christie secured a Hylo Open 2026 semi-final place by beating Japan's Kodai Naraoka 21-8, 18-21, 21-11 at Saarlandhalle in Saarbrücken, Germany, on 30 October. He will meet Denmark's top seed Anders Antonsen on 31 October.
Jonatan controlled the opening game before Naraoka stepped up his attacking pace in the second. The Indonesian's level dropped as his opponent forced a decider, but he regained control in the third game and stayed ahead to complete the win.
In comments issued by PBSI and carried by Antara, Jonatan said beating Naraoka in their previous meeting had given him more confidence. He felt their overall playing patterns had changed little since that encounter, despite his loss of control during the second game.
The victory kept Jonatan in contention to retain the title he won at the previous edition. He said he wanted to perform as well as possible but preferred to take the competition one match at a time, concentrating on the semi-final rather than looking ahead to the trophy.
Antonsen advanced by defeating fellow Dane Ditlev Jaeger Holm 21-11, 21-13.
