FRENCH OPEN 2016 R16 – New faces in final 8

Some new faces will be present in the French Open quarter-finals, as promising youngsters Jonatan Christie and Busanan Ongbamrungphan each booked their first appearance in a quarter-final of a European Superseries event.

By Tarek Hafi, Badzine Correspondent live in Paris.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Youngsters to lead the march

Indonesian prodigy Jonatan Christie didn’t have to force his talent to outplay a numbed Rajiv Ouseph (pictured below) during his second round match in Paris.  Currently placed twenty-two in the world ranking, the youngster proved once more to have the shoulders broad enough to take on the world circuit after a close-to-perfect performance.

A quickly earned first game, and a gargantuan gap in the second led to a reduced attention span for the Indonesian: “I was leading 15-3 in the second game, which clearly made me lose my focus for a while, though I managed to settle down right after,” confessed the playful Jonatan Christie (pictured below).

Christie is accustomed to achieving success at home, as he enjoyed wins over former world #1s Lee Hyun Il and Lin Dan at the last two Indonesia Opens, although his first Superseries semi-final was in Malaysia this year.

Now the 19-year-old, who on this week’s world rankings is just two spots below top Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto – is ready to take on a bigger stage: “I am training hard to achieve a top ten or top five ranking, though the competition is extremely tough, with many young players aiming at those spots,” added Christie.

The Indonesian will now fight for a place in the last four against Chinese youngster Shi Yuqi, recent winner of the Indonesian Masters.

Busanan for a first

Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan (pictured) seized the right opportunity when needed, as she finished three tough games to defeat Japan’s Minatsu Mitani, former winner in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.  Despite a 13-21 first game loss, the Thai perfectly corrected all the imperfections to make a flawless comeback.

“Mitani is a player with an excellent defence, but at first I kept attacking and it obviously didn’t work out.  Therefore in the second game, I varied my shots and thankfully it eventually worked,” said a completely delighted Busanan.

It was a win with an even more positive outing, since it will be Busanan’s first ever appearance in Superseries quarter-final in Europe and her first at all since 2014.  Amazingly, although the Thai won her first Grand Prix Gold title way back in 2012 as a 16-year-old, she has never been farther in a Superseries than two quarter-finals, in 2012 and 2014.

“It is very special to me because it’s my first quarter final here! Every time I’m off to a competition I try to remain focussed and do my very best to win.  Now I will keep focussed and prepare for my match,” admitted Busanan, who diligently kept her habit of never checking her draw out and taking every match as it comes.

Click here for complete Thursday results