Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia hits a return against Su Li Yang of Taiwan (not pictured) in their mens singles quarter-final match during the Hong Kong Open badminton tournament in Hong Kong on September 15, 2023. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
PETALING JAYA: Coping with the sorrow of losing a loved one can be a lengthy journey, but Indonesia’s men singles shuttler Anthony Ginting (pic) is making positive strides towards accepting the loss.
In the recently-concluded Hong Kong Open, Anthony bowed out in the semi-finals after a 13-21, 15-21 defeat to Japan’s world No. 15 Kenta Nishimoto at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Kowloon on Saturday.
It was the Japanese’s first victory over Anthony following five consecutive losses in their previous meetings.
Anthony was happy with the progress that he had made after withdrawing from the World Championships in August and suffering a first-round exit in the China Open.
“Kenta played better but my performances these past two weeks have been improving,” said Anthony, who will be turning 27 next month, in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“Hopefully it can be my motivation for the upcoming events.”
Anthony opened up on his difficult journey of grieving following the loss of his beloved mother Lucia Sriati on Aug 9.
Coming to grips with this loss was challenging for him, but he found support from a small group of friends and fellow church members who stood by his side.
“It was my first such experience,” he said.
“It’s not easy to recover from that situation but I tried so hard these past few 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 meet because it wouldn’t have gone well.
“I have a small group of friends and a small group in church and that’s helped me so much because of their support and prayer.”
Anthony will now shift his focus to the Hangzhou Asian Games from Sept 23-Oct 8.
At the 2018 Jakarta edition, he returned home with one silver (men’s team) and one bronze (men’s singles).
