J

onatan Christie'€™s success at topping the world junior rankings early last year and his impressive debut against his senior peers in the recent Indonesia Open has testified to his worth as Indonesia'€™s future star.

His march from qualifications to quarterfinals at the expense of bigger names may provide a leverage of confidence about realizing his dream to become an Olympic champion. No Indonesian has earned an Olympic gold in men'€™s singles badminton since Taufik Hidayat became the first in Athens in 2004.

'€œI want to hear the national anthem '€œIndonesia Raya'€ resounding at the Olympic stage,'€ the 17-year-old shuttler Jonatan told The Jakarta Post recently.

He said an Olympic achievement would be redemption for his father'€™s disappointment in his failure to achieve as a soccer player.

Jonatan was introduced to badminton when he was in elementary school. However, his dislike for playing outdoor sports led him to choose badminton over other sports.

'€œMy school offered soccer, basketball and badminton as part of its extra-curriculum program. I chose badminton because it was played indoors. I was afraid of being tanned at that time,'€ he said, laughing.

At that time his school joined hands with a badminton club to train the students and a coach saw Jonatan'€™s talent.

At the tender age of 7, he started to take badminton more seriously in the hope that he could make a name for himself and Indonesia on the international stage.

'€œI thought if I wanted to make international achievements, I had a better chance of doing it through badminton rather than soccer,'€ said the athlete, who featured in a badminton-themed movie called King in 2009.

He found himself on the right track when he surged to the top of the world rankings. His stunning run at the Indonesia Open, albeit coming to a halt in quarterfinals at the hands of then reigning champion Jan O. Jorgensen, drew praise from fellow shuttlers and the media alike.

He fought his way up from the qualifying round by crushing his peer Firman Abdul Kholik and Thailand'€™s number one seeded Bonsak Ponsana. In the main round, he stunned Chinese Taipei'€™s French Open winner Chou Tien Chen before crushing two-time Asian Games gold medalist and 2005 champion Lee Hyun Ill.

'€œI have seen some of his games. He has really big talent and I'€™m really sure we'€™ll get to see more of him in the future,'€ Jorgensen said, commenting on Jonatan after their match.

'€œHe'€™s an exciting player and it'€™s always great to see new talents come up and do well in the superseries circuit. This will not be the last time that we will see him,'€ he added.

Jonatan did not want to be over-preoccupied by flattery, saying that they were sources of motivation for him to develop his self-confidence and help make him better each day.