BWF Denmark Open 2024: Fourth seed Jonatan Christie beats ...

Badminton world number three Jonatan Christie secured his passage through to the second round of the BWF Denmark Open 2024 in Odense on Wednesday (16 October).

Christie struggled to control the match at the start in the first game, with opponent Leong Jun Hao of Malaysia enjoying the better of the early exchanges.

From 8-10 down, Christie managed to win eight of the next nine points to lead 16-11 – but then let Leong back into the game as the Malaysian pulled it back to 16-16.

However, fourth-seeded Christie managed to win the last five points in a row to take the opening game 21-16.

Perhaps buoyed by that, the Indonesian had an easier time of things in the second game.

Leong only led once in the entire second game, at 1-0, as Christie showed the kind of recent form that has pushed him back up the world rankings.

The Indonesian took the lead at 3-2 and never let it slip, eventually opening up a seven-point gap by the end to wrap up his 21-16, 21-14 win in 43 minutes.

He will play Lu Guangzu in the last 16 on Thursday.

Christie's compatriot Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, the eighth seed, plays his first-round match later on Wednesday against Nishimoto Kenta of Japan.

Beginning with the quarter-finals on Friday, the latter rounds of the tournament will be available to stream live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app (territorial restrictions may apply).