T

he 2018 China Open seemed to be a turning point for rising star Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia, who outshone world number two Kento Momota of Japan to win his first Super 1000 men’s singles title on Sunday.

The win gave Anthony, the champion of the 2017 Korea Open Superseries, his second major badminton title.

Before the Badminton World Federation (BWF) restructured its system of competitions in 2018 under the BWF World Tour, top-tier tournaments were part of what was known as the Super Series, which lasted from 2007 to 2017. Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro holds the most Super Series men’s singles titles with five.

Anthony’s road to victory at the China Open was not easy, as the world number 13 was tasked with defeating some of the sport’s biggest names.

The 22-year-old opened the tournament against Chinese superstar and former world number one Lin Dan at the Olympic Sports Center’s Xincheng Gymnasium in Changzhou, China. Anthony managed to claim his first win in the tournament, defeating Lin 22-24, 21-5, 21-19 in 54 minutes.

It was Anthony’s first win over Lin, who crushed the Indonesian in their two previous meetings at the 2017 Chinese Taipei Open and 2018 Swiss Open.

Things were not any easier on day two, as he had to play against world number one Viktor Axelsen of Denmark. With a composed performance, Anthony pulled off another upset, defeating Axelsen 21-18, 21-17 to book a spot in the quarterfinals.

The victory was redemption for Anthony, who was beaten by the Dane in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open last week.

Anthony’s quarterfinal opponent, world number six Chen Long of China, was yet another home-crowd favorite and giant in the sport. But with intense focus, Anthony managed to best the former world number one 18-21, 22-20, 21-16 in 1 hour and 25 minutes.

In the semifinals, Anthony continued his streak, ousting world number five Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 12-21, 21-17, 21-15. In their head-to-head, Anthony holds a 4-2 record over Chen.

In Sunday’s final, the fight against global phenoms did not end, as Anthony was pitted against rising star Momota, who was fresh off of an historic first-place finish at the Japan Open. In a 1 hour and 3 minute match, Anthony silenced Momota 23-21, 21-19 to claim the 2018 China Open title.

“Praise the Lord, I won [the title]. It was a tough day, with the scoreline very slim,” Anthony said in a statement.

“I just fell back on my routine when I was behind. I intentionally didn’t want to think about how far I was behind. I just focused on how to execute shots to earn points,” Anthony said.

The China Open title was Anthony’s second this year. In January, he won the Indonesia Masters, a BWF Super 500 tournament.

Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) sports development head Susy Susanti lauded Anthony’s hard work and willingness to learn.

“[Anthony] proved that he learned from the recent [2018] Asian Games — he improved his technical skills, playing style and strategy to win,” Susy told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

At the Games, Anthony was eliminated in the men’s singles semifinals by Chou. Anthony’s close friend, Jonatan Christie, won the title.

“We saw positive improvements in the performances of Jonatan and Anthony. We also still have hopes for Ihsan [Maulana Mustofa],” said Susy, referring to another men’s singles shuttler who won the Bangka Belitung Indonesia Masters 2018 also on Sunday. “We hope these players can maintain their consistency so that they will be ready for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”