Jonathan Christie doesn't want to be complacent at All England

BIRMINGHAM, SUNDAY—Jonatan Christie enters the All England competition, March 11-16, 2025, as the defending champion. The Indonesian men's singles badminton player will not be complacent with that status.

The world’s third-ranked athlete achieved a major milestone in his career in Birmingham, England, in 2024 by winning the All England. Jonatan's title was one of Indonesia's achievements, alongside the men's doubles pair, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

I don't want to be complacent with last year's results.

Jonatan won the final in an all-Indonesian match against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. However, unlike Jonatan, Anthony is absent this year as he has not yet recovered from a right arm injury.

With the All England championship trophy, Jonatan completes his collection of titles from all levels of the BWF World Tour tournaments. The All England is one of the four Super 1000 tournaments, and prior to this, Jonatan had titles from the New Zealand, Australian, and Swiss Opens (Super 300), the Indonesia Masters, the Hong Kong Open (Super 500), and the French Open (Super 750).

"I do not want to be complacent with last year's results, which are now in the past. This year is a new and different matter. Therefore, I will focus on one thing at a time," said Jonatan during the Indonesian team's training session in Birmingham on Sunday (9/3/2025) afternoon local time.

Jonatan will compete as the third seed. The draw conducted on March 4 places the 27-year-old athlete against Leong Jun Hao (Malaysia) in the first round. Other seeded athletes in the upper half of the draw alongside Jonatan include Lee Zii Jia (7), as well as two Chinese athletes, Li Shi Feng (6) and Chi Yu Qi (1).

However, the men's singles draw will undergo changes through a manager's meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon local time or early Tuesday morning Indonesian time. The changes are being made in connection with Anthony's withdrawal, whose name is still listed in the draw.

Whatever happens in the draw, Jonatan believes that the competition in 2025 will be just as intense as the previous year. "The participants are not much different. So, the competition will be equally tight," said Jonatan, accompanied by his colleague, Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, in the men's singles category.

Jonatan, Chico, and the other Indonesian squad who left Indonesia early Saturday morning underwent their first training on Sunday. The training for physical recovery after undergoing a long journey was also attended by Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti who arrived from France after participating in the Orleans Masters. Meanwhile, the mixed doubles, Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, are still undergoing the final of the Orleans Masters on Sunday.

Other athletes who joined the training were Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani. The men's doubles who trained outside the national training center were accompanied by Hendra Setiawan, who retired as an athlete in January 2025, as a coach.

Women's doubles coach, Nitya Krishinda Maheswari, hopes that Apriyani/Fadia and Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi can take advantage of the opportunity to appear at the All England by bringing out their best game.

"All England is a unique tournament, the atmosphere is very different and everyone has the same opportunity to get the best results. The coaching team must have a target, but it all depends on the athlete's performance. Hopefully they can make good use of this momentum," said Nitya.

Apriyani/Fadia will compete in the All England for the third time in a row with the best result of the quarterfinals in 2023. Meanwhile, Febriana/Amalia will make their debut in the world's oldest badminton tournament. Sabar/Reza and Putri Kusuma Wardani will also compete in the All England for the first time.

Since the preparation period at the national badminton training center, Cipayung, Jakarta, Febriana/Amalia expressed their enthusiasm to compete in the All England. The first challenge for them will come from Thai players, Laksika Kanlaha/Phataimas Muenwong. Meanwhile, Apriyani/Fadia will face Teng Chun Hsun/Yang Chu Yun (Taiwan).

After training to restore physical condition on Sunday, the Indonesian Team will undergo two training sessions on Monday. The training on Monday afternoon will be conducted at the match venue so they can adapt to the field conditions.