It was Anthony Sinisuka Ginting’s first match on the circuit since early August, and the rustiness showed. The Indonesian fell in 66 minutes to Kanta Tsuneyama, 21-17 in the third, and was upset he couldn’t stay on longer at a tournament he has fond memories of.

It was at the China Open five years ago that he achieved one of his biggest triumphs – beating an in-form Kento Momota in the final.

But these are not normal times for the world No.2, who suffered a major personal tragedy last month when he lost his mother. The world No.2 withdrew from the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023 where he was second seed. Ginting said he was trying hard to come to terms with the loss.

“It was my first such experience. It’s not easy to recover from that situation but I tried so hard these past three weeks. I kept training as normal as possible and tried to go to tournaments as usual, but… it is what it is.

“The important thing is that I need to have a fresh mind outside the court, but it was not happening. That’s why I missed the World Championships because it wouldn’t have gone well.

“I had some expectations coming here. I played so well here twice before, so I was hoping that it would happen again. It’s not easy for me to prepare. In Jakarta I trained well, but… for me, time will heal. I need more time.”

Ginting said he was dealing with the crisis with the help of friends and members of his church.

“I have a small group of friends and a small group in church and that’s helped me so much because they support and pray.”

Despite the grief, Ginting said he had given the China Open his best shot, and was disappointed he couldn’t progress to the second round.

“I tried so hard to give my best but maybe today’s not my day,” rued the Indonesian. “I made a lot of mistakes in the first game and I tried to play patiently in the second and third, but the strategy didn’t go well.

“The China Open win (2018) was a really long time ago. I missed playing in China because usually there are so many supporters to cheer for me. I’m so upset that I cannot go to the next round here.”

Day 2 Highlights

Second seeds Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino were in trouble against Lee Chun Hei/Ng Tsz Yau at a game and 12-17 down, but managed to turn around their fortunes in a 21-23 21-18 21-11 result.

All England champion Li Shi Feng held off Chou Tien Chen in an entertaining 75-minute battle, 21-14 18-21 21-18.

Despite nursing a left knee injury, Kim Won Ho and partner Jeong Na Eun prevailed in straight games over Yuki Kaneko/Misaki Matsutomo.

What Others Said

‘Most of the Japanese players have a similar style, but he (Kodai Naraoka) is more stable and has better control.” – Lee Zii Jia

‘We had very few days to recover after the World Championships. We’re not in the best condition but it’s the same for everyone, so we have to do our best.’ – Soh Wooi Yik