Odense: Denmark’s World No. 4, Anders Antonsen, delivered a brilliant performance against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto, dominating the match to win 21-15, 21-14 in the Denmark Open semi-finals on Saturday.
Highlights of Anders Antonsen vs. Kenta Nishimoto in the 2024 Denmark Open semi-finals:
Antonsen will face another Japanese player, World No. 13 Koki Watanabe, in the final. Watanabe put on an impressive display, defeating 19-year-old Alex Lanier from France 21-16, 21-13. Lanier appeared fatigued during the semi-final, likely due to his grueling quarter-final match against Loh Kean Yew, which lasted one hour and 20 minutes.
Joining Antonsen in the final is Denmark’s World No. 3 men’s doubles pair, Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. They secured a spot in the final after defeating Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto 22-20, 18-21, 21-11 in a thrilling semi-final. Astrup and Rasmussen will take on World No. 1 Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the final.
In the women’s singles semi-final, Paris Olympic gold medalist An Se Young advanced to the final, but not without drama. Her opponent, Indonesia’s World No. 8 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, was forced to retire in the second game due to severe discomfort, leaving her in tears. An Se Young showed great sportsmanship, offering comfort to Tunjung as she was escorted off in a wheelchair.
The 22-year-old An Se Young was visibly saddened by Tunjung’s pain. Tunjung had lost all eight previous encounters against An and was eager to prove herself this time. She initially led 14-11 in the first game but couldn’t maintain the advantage. An eventually won the game, despite Tunjung saving one game point.
In the second game, Tunjung built a 9-3 lead before An began closing the gap. Unfortunately, Tunjung started experiencing severe discomfort in her lower back. Despite her efforts to continue playing, the pain became too much, and she had to sit down on the court before being taken off in a wheelchair.
Since winning gold at the Paris Olympics, An Se Young has been in a tense standoff with the Badminton Korea Association, resulting in limited interaction with her coaching team during the Denmark Open. Nonetheless, she has advanced to the final, where she will face China’s Wang Zhiyi. An holds an 8-2 advantage over Wang in their previous ten meetings.
In women’s doubles, Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning of China will take on Japan’s Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the final. Meanwhile, Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping will meet fellow Chinese pair Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin in the mixed doubles final.
