India Open 2026: Jonatan Christie Reveals Shuttlecock Weirdness After Defeating Singapore Rep

Indonesian Men's Singles player Jonatan Christie hinted at an alleged Fair Play incident after defeating Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in the first round of the BWF World Tour Super 750 India Open 2026 at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

The third-seeded Jonatan won in straight games 21-16, 21-10 during the 40-minute match. 

Behind this victory, Jonatan revealed an anomaly he noticed with the shuttlecock, particularly in the first game.

According to Jonatan, the incident occurred when he began feeling differences in the shuttlecock's characteristics during match rallies.

"When he served and I returned it, the shuttlecock felt unusually fast. The feeling and touch were different. I briefly wondered if the shuttlecock had been swapped," said Jonatan in the official statement from the PBSI after the match.

Jonatan stated this suspicion grew stronger when the shuttlecock came to his side, where he observed unusual markings.

"When I held it, there appeared to be pinch marks. Pinching can sometimes make it faster or slower. Coincidentally, I had a slight advantage with the wind in the first game, making it feel even faster," he explained.

Jonatan emphasized he didn't witness when the alleged action occurred. He confirmed with the service judge who declared it clean.

"I asked the service judge who stated it was clean. But there were indeed fingernail-like marks on the shuttlecock that aren't present on new ones," he said.

Jonatan mentioned his opponent didn't acknowledge the incident after the match, and he chose not to escalate the matter further.

"The match is over and doesn't need further discussion," stated Jonatan.

With this win, Jonatan advances to the second round where he's scheduled to face Japan's Yushi Tanaka, who defeated him in their last encounter at the Australia Open 2025 with scores of 17-21, 7-21.