The 30 year wait for the All England Men's Singles Champion has come true

Jonatan ensures an all-Indonesian men's singles final after defeating Lakshya Sen in the semifinals. In the match at Arena Birmingham, England, on Saturday (16/3/2024) evening (Saturday midnight Indonesian time), Jonatan won with a score of 21-12, 10-21, 21-15. Approximately four hours earlier, Anthony advanced to the final after defeating Christo Popov 19-21, 21-5, 21-11.

"Reaching the final of the All England tournament is significant for me, and perhaps for all athletes, as it is one of the biggest badminton tournaments," Anthony commented.

Also read: To All England Final, Anthony Ginting Ends 22 Year Wait for Indonesian Men's Singles

Meanwhile, Jonatan said that the results in Arena Birmingham were achieved thanks to the solid teamwork in the men's singles. "Perhaps nobody expected it because the results have been fluctuating in several tournaments, but we always try our best. We improve on our weaknesses by building good relationships to become more solid," he said.

Anthony's qualifying made history for Indonesian men's singles because this number had never had a representative in the final after Budi Santoso in 2002. Jonathan made this sector's achievement even greater because the title was guaranteed to be won 30 years later with a title from Haryanto Arbi.

Hariyanto became the sole last male Indonesian to win the All England when the tournament was first held at the Arena Birmingham in 1994, moving from Wembley Arena. Another moment that brings the 2024 final in line with 30 years ago is the occurrence of an all-Indonesian final. Hariyanto defeated Ardy Bernadus Wiranata with a score of 15-12, 17-14.

Advancing to the final of the All England is a significant achievement for me and perhaps for all athletes, as the All England is one of the biggest badminton tournaments.

The 1994 All England even became the best moment for Indonesian men's singles. Out of six representatives, five made it to the quarterfinals, which resulted in a semifinal between fellow "Red and White" players. Hariyanto defeated Alan Budikusuma, while Ardy won against Hermawan Susanto.

Also read: Waiting for the Revival of the “Red and White” in All England

The achievement was the culmination of Indonesia's sole male participation in the All England tournament, which began with Ferry Souneville in 1956. The best result of the figure who became the Chairman of PP PBSI between 1981-1985 was when he reached the final in 1959. In that year, Indonesia also won its first All England title through Tan Joe Hok who defeated Ferry 15-18, 10-15, 15-3 in the final.

The singular pride of Indonesia in the All England shines brightly when Rudy Hartono won eight titles in the All England, seven of them consecutively from 1968-1974. Another title was obtained in 1976.

The dominance of this number during that era was shown by three Indonesian player finals when Rudy became champion. In 1971, Rudy won after defeating Muljadi, then won against Christian Hadinata in the 1973 final, and Liem Swie King in 1976.

Also read: Three Indonesian Representatives to the All England Semifinals

In the 1980s era, King was the only male Indonesian badminton player to win a single title. During this period, Chinese players such as Luan Jin, Zhao Jian Hua, and Yang Yang competed at the highest level alongside Danish players, including Morten Frost Hansen.

Ardy (the champion of 1991) and Hariyanto (the champion of 1993 and 1994) were the last two individuals to bring home titles for Indonesia during the 1990s. Hariyanto managed to return to the finals in 1995, but lost to Poul Erick Hoyer Larsen, as did Budi who lost to Chen Hong in the 2002 final. Since then, there has only been one Indonesian men's singles semifinalist, namely Taufik Hidayat in 2004 and 2009.

The moment when Hariyanto battled against Ardy will finally be repeated by Anthony and Jonatan in the same place as it was 30 years ago. The match, which will take place on Sunday, will mark the first final for Anthony and Jonatan in the All England championship after previously reaching the quarterfinals as their best results. During their journey to the final, both of them eliminated the top two seeds in the quarterfinals, with Anthony beating the first seed, Viktor Axelsen, while Jonatan defeated Shi Yu Qi (2), who only completed the first game due to injury.

Jonatan has reached the final after a poor start in the first four tournaments of 2024, having been eliminated three times in the first round and once in the second round. In the French Open, a week before the All England, he lost in the first round. His performance at the beginning of this year is different from 2023, when he won three tournaments, namely the Indonesia Masters, Hong Kong Open, and French Open.

However, he improved his game level while playing at the Arena Birmingham. When facing Sen in the semifinals, except for the second game, Jonatan played aggressively. Almost every attack was well-designed and not done in haste. He was also able to defend well and execute counter-attacks.

For Anthony, this All England final is his first since the Indonesia Open final in June 2023. His last championship title was obtained at the Singapore Open in the same month.

In the women's doubles, the battle for the championship title will take place between Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida and Baek Ha-na/Lee So-hee. As for the world number one in women's singles and defending champion, An Se-young, she was stopped by her archenemy, Akane Yamaguchi, 21-10, 19-21, 21-14. This was a retaliation for Yamaguchi's defeat by An in the French Open final.

Another Indonesian representative in the semifinals, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, will face off against Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi in the final semifinal, which will take place on Saturday night local time or early Sunday (3/17) morning Indonesia time.

Meanwhile, from the Orleans Masters tournament, the mixed doubles pair, Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, still maintain their hopes of becoming champions. They have progressed to the final to face the Chinese pair, Cheng Xing/Zhang Chi, after defeating Mads Vestergaard/Christine Busch 21-11, 22-20.