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1. A future film star?

It was only a supporting role, but in 2009 Christie appeared in the film King about the legendary Indonesian badminton player Liem Swie King. The film, directed by Ari Sihasale, featured cameos by other badminton stars, including King himself, Hariyanto Arbi, Hastomo Arbi, Ellen Angelina, Ivana Lie, Rosiana Tendean, Maria Kristin Yulianti and Fransisca Ratnasari.

Content with his first calling, Christie has never considered a film career – yet. “Because my passion is to be a badminton player. I have my personal target in badminton. I can’t see myself being a movie star in the future,” he said. “I see myself as a successful badminton player in the future. I’ve actually received offers to play a role in a movie a couple of other times … but I refused, because that is not my passion.”

But he said that in 2014, while still a teenager, and things change quickly under the spotlight.

2. Christie’s swagger steals the show on the court

He is known for his smash – it’s powerful and dead-on. In fact he’s often compared to the man himself, Liem Swie King. Christie’s skills are nearly unmatchable right now, and they are accompanied by core strength and blinding speed; he’s known for his agility and a keen sense of the opponent’s next move.

“It’s not intentional,” he says of his tremendous ability to win. “It just happens. They are all talented players, and I’m fortunate to be able to play against them. I just want to enjoy this journey.”

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3. ‘Colourism’ affected his childhood dreams of swimming competitively

Christie’s earliest ambitions were actually focused not on racket sports, but on swimming – but his father steered him away from that, because he didn’t want his son’s skin tone to become “darker”.

“It all started when I joined an extracurricular badminton club in my first grade of elementary school,” he said. “In fact, there was not only badminton. There was also basketball, taekwondo and football. It was my father’s desire that led me to badminton. He told me to choose badminton instead of the other three.

“I asked why. His reason was simple: he didn’t want my skin colour to get any darker. And he thought that badminton was the right choice. Actually, at that time, I didn’t have much interest in badminton. I didn’t even know what badminton is. I was more into swimming back then. I once finished first place in a swimming competition when I was in kindergarten.”

4. He’s a viral sensation

When he won the gold medal in the men’s singles match in the 2018 Asian Games, things went a little nuts. As the crowd erupted in excitement in his hometown Jakarta, Christie whipped off his shirt and threw it to the fans. He and his shirtless self soon went viral. And it hasn’t let up since – he now has 1.9 million fans on Instagram.

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5. How he ranks in the worldwide field

Christie is currently ranked sixth on the BWF men’s singles world ranking – and third on the men’s singles world tour ranking. He has clocked 207 career wins as of this date.

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