JAKARTA (AFP): Canada's Victor Lai overcame a partisan crowd to defeat home favourite Jonatan Christie in straight games to win the Indonesia Open men's singles badminton title on Sunday.
Lai, 21, beat the fifth seed 21-19, 21-8, maintaining tight control of rallies to deny Christie in the final in Jakarta.
"I think today, the hardest thing was overcoming the pressure from the crowd. So loud. Every time he wins a point, I can't hear myself talking at all," said Lai, who watched many of Christie's matches growing up.
"But he also had the pressure of being the home favourite.
"So the most important thing was just to stay focused and just believe that I could win."
Christie said he found it difficult to overcome the pressure but praised Lai for being more patient.
Lai's victory also prolonged a title drought for Indonesia, with the last homegrown men's singles champion being Simon Santoso in 2012.
In the women's singles, world number one An Se-young defeated Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 23-21, 21-12 to win her fifth individual title this year.
"I do not have any specific target but just want to maintain my level at the top and become unbeatable," the Paris Olympic gold medallist said.
An also won the Indonesian women's title in 2021 and 2025.
The Danish pair of Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Bøje won the mixed doubles title, beating China's Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi 21-19, 23-21.
Christiansen and Bøje capped a successful three weeks after also lifting trophies in Thailand and Singapore. -- AFP
