Indonesia’s Anthony Jinting defeated Kevin Cordon 21-11, 21-13 to win the men’s singles bronze medal in badminton at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Guatemalan’s Cordon became the first Latin American player to reach the semi-finals of the Olympic badminton tournament, but failed to win a medal.
Jinting’s victory came on the same day Indonesia’s doubles team, Apriyani Rahayu and Gracia Polly, won the women’s doubles gold medal. The Indonesian team won a total of five medals in Tokyo 2020, one gold medal, one silver medal, and three bronze medals.
Jinting was happy to win the bronze medal, and in an official interview after the match, he said, “I’m really happy. I’m happy to win a bronze medal in the first Olympics. I want to thank everyone who has supported me.”
“I feel the bronze medal. This medal is for Indonesia. It really means a lot to me. My family, Indonesian badminton and supporters.”
“The training was really hard, but today I can finally rest.”
Cordon reached the historic semi-finals, but expressed grief over the loss. “The last day, the last game at the Olympics.”
“It’s sad, because I wanted to win a medal. But that’s it. I can’t complain. I didn’t think I was going to the semifinals. Of course I wanted to win, but I have to be realistic.”
However, looking back on the Olympic experience, Cordon said life after Tokyo 2020 will be completely different.
“It was black before, but now it’s white. It’s completely different. I return as a completely different person and a different person.”
“For me, participating in the Olympics was like a dream. Going to the semifinals was like a dream. Now I’ll go back and say, ‘Thank you Guatemala’.”
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