Jojo and Gregoria Face Tough Opponents in the Third Round of the World Championships

PARIS, WEDNESDAY — Jonatan Christie and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung advanced to the third round of the 2025 Badminton World Championship. In that round, they must prepare to face tough opponents who have previously defeated them.

They won the second round at the Adidas Arena, Paris, France, on Wednesday (27/8/2025), after Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari became the first representatives of Indonesia to be eliminated. They were eliminated in the second round after losing to Tang Chung Man/Tse Ying Suet (Hong Kong), 16-21, 14-21.

Gregoria advanced to the third round for the third time after reaching the same stage in 2019 and the quarter-finals in 2023. Meanwhile, Jonatan achieved this after being eliminated in the first round in 2023.

In the third round, which will take place on Thursday (28/8/2025), Gregoria will face Sim Yu Jin after defeating Julie Dawall Jakobsen (Denmark) in the second round with a score of 21-17, 21-8. Gregoria leads 6-1 against Sim, but she must remain vigilant, especially regarding her own performance.

The seventh-seeded Indonesian women's singles player reflected on her performance, acknowledging that she made too many mistakes during the second round. "I also need to anticipate more quickly if my opponent changes their playing pattern or speed," said Gregoria.

The world-ranked seventh athlete aims to perform better than in his previous two tournaments, the Japan Open and the China Open, as he returns to the championship after a three-month break. He did not compete due to experiencing vertigo issues.

"I definitely have my own targets, but what is important is to perform better and feel more comfortable compared to the previous two tournaments," said Gregoria, who was eliminated in the first round of the Japan Open and the quarter-finals of the China Open this year.

Gregoria's advancement to the third round was followed by her "younger sister" in the national badminton training center, Putri Kusuma Wardani. After winning against Juliana Viana Vieira (Brazil), 21-15, 21-11, Putri will face 19-year-old Japanese player, Tomoka Miyazaki.

Miyazaki is a young star who became the junior world champion in 2022. In their first two encounters with Putri, they shared victories in three-game matches. However, Putri won in their most recent meeting, which took place in Miyazaki's home country, during the second round of the Japan Open a month ago.

For Putri, the match against Miyazaki will be her third round in the World Championship after losing in the first round in 2022 and the second round in 2023.

Meanwhile, Jonatan will face an opponent who defeated him in the second round of the Indonesia Open, namely Lee Cheuk Yiu. That defeat occurred in their last meeting, despite Jonatan leading 7-3. In front of his supporters at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta in June, Jonatan was defeated 21-12, 12-21, 10-21.

The fifth-seeded Indonesian player will face Lee after winning against the Azerbaijan player of Indonesian descent, Ade Resky Dwicahyo, with a score of 21-9, 21-17 in the second round. After easily securing the first game, Jonatan won the second game in a tighter contest.

After Jonatan took the lead at 11-7, the score in the second game was tied at 12-12, 14-14, and 16-16. "Actually, I did not expect to face Ade, but he played well (in the first round) and managed to defeat Koki Watanabe. He played very well and aggressively. Today, Ade also played aggressively. I tried to contain him," said Jonatan.

From the match against Ade, Jonatan "Jojo" stated that he needs to be smarter in anticipating the direction and gusts of wind on the court. Moreover, the wind conditions on each court are different.

Meanwhile, Rinov/Pitha became the first representatives of Indonesia to be eliminated after losing to Tang/Tse. Rinov stated that their main difficulty was anticipating the opponent's initial shots, namely the serve and the service return. In fact, in doubles play, the initial shots are very crucial.

"Our opponents' serve and reception put us in an uncomfortable position. We were easily attacked and lost a lot of points. They are indeed experienced players," said Rinov.

Four other representatives from Indonesia competed in the second round, which took place from Wednesday night to Thursday early morning Indonesian time. They include Alwi Farhan, Jafar Hidayatullah/Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu, and Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Mohammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, who made their debut at the World Championship.