Antonsen announced on his personal social media that he has hired his older brother, Kasper, as his coach, expressing joy that his brother can officially work alongside him.
“I had no doubt who I wanted as my new coach. Luckily, he felt the same way. Throughout my life, he has been my most loyal supporter and someone I can always rely on.”
Antonsen was born into a badminton family. Both his father and brother were badminton players, though Antonsen’s achievements have surpassed theirs.
Just before the 2024 Korea Open, Danish men’s singles badminton star Antonsen discovered that his coach, Persson, was involved in match-fixing, leading him to part ways with the coach and compete in the tournament alone.
Antonsen will next compete in the China Open in Changzhou from September 17 to 22, with his brother by his side.
Following the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, the badminton world has now entered the Los Angeles cycle, with the Japan Open and Korea Open held successively. Although many of the stars who participated in the Paris Olympics were absent from these events, there were still many highlights. In this new cycle, young players have stepped onto the stage and begun showcasing their talents. The Chinese badminton team also used these two tournaments to experiment with new doubles pairings and provide young players with opportunities to gain experience.
At the Japan Open, the Chinese team won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles. In the Los Angeles cycle, China still boasts strong pairings in these two events. Olympic women’s doubles silver medalists, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, continued their strong form from Paris. As the second seeds, they advanced to the finals after defeating Malaysia’s top pair Chen Tang Jie and Thinaah Muralitharan, as well as Chinese teammates Jia Yifan and Li Wenmei in the quarterfinals. In the final, they faced top-seeded Korean duo Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee. The “Sheng-Tan” pair triumphed 21-18, 22-20, defeating their opponents again after a quarterfinal victory at the Olympics, securing their third title of the season. With their experience at the Olympics, the duo has become more mature and composed when facing difficult situations. Born in 2004 and 2003, respectively, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning have not only maintained their aggressive playing style but have also developed greater synergy. In the Los Angeles cycle, they are expected to become the leaders of Chinese women’s doubles.
In mixed doubles, the “post-2000s” pairing of Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin, already ranked fifth in the world during the Paris cycle, missed out on the Paris Olympics due to the strong competition from Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong and Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping. However, in the Los Angeles cycle, they have naturally become the new hope for Chinese mixed doubles. At the Japan Open final, they comfortably defeated Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet 21-12, 21-12, securing their third World Tour title of the year. Notably, with this victory, their world ranking is set to rise to third, and the Chinese mixed doubles team now occupies the top three spots in the latest world rankings released this week.
In addition to Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning and Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin, many young players also made appearances in these two tournaments. In women’s doubles, Olympic champion Jia Yifan partnered with Li Wenmei at the Japan Open. Newly formed pairings, Kong Xianying/Zhang Shuxian, and Li Yijing/Luo Xumin, also competed at both the Japan and Korea Opens. In men’s doubles, post-2000s pairings such as Xie Haonan/Zeng Weihuan, Chen Boyang/Liu Yi, as well as newcomers Huang Di/Zhou Haodong, made their debut at the Korea Open. Besides Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin, young mixed doubles teams like Cheng Xing/Zhang Chi, Guo Xinwa/Li Xi, and Zhou Zhihong/Yang Jiayi also tested their skills through match play, with hopes of developing better chemistry and deepening the talent pool for Chinese mixed doubles in the new cycle.
In singles, the Chinese team has yet to see any standout newcomers in these two tournaments. However, the men’s singles scene in the global badminton world has witnessed a youth storm. 19-year-old French player Christo Popov Lanier emerged as the biggest dark horse at the Japan Open, defeating top players like sixth-seed Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia, Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito, Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto, and China’s top player Shi Yuqi to reach the final. In the final, Lanier faced Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei, winning 21-17, 22-20 to claim the title, making him the biggest surprise of the first tournament in the new cycle.
World No. 9 Pearly-Thinaah finished as runners-up in the Mokpo final on Sunday (September 1), losing 12-21, 11-21 to the host pair, former World No. 3 Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong.
The Malaysian duo had defeated another host pair, World No. 2 Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, in the semifinals, but they couldn’t replicate their brilliant performance against the formidable Jeong-Kim, who controlled the match from start to finish.
Despite the defeat, Pearly and Thinaah can hold their heads high, as this was their first final appearance since finishing as runners-up at the Hong Kong Open a year ago.
The pair last won a title at the 2022 French Open.
Lu Guangzu won the men’s singles title at the Korea Open with scores of 21-16, 20-22, and 21-18 against Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao, securing the sole championship for the Chinese national team at this event.
In the first set, Lu Guangzu gradually pulled ahead after a 3-all tie, winning 21-16.
In the second set, Lu Guangzu started strong with a 6-0 lead, but Lee Chia-hao fought back. Despite Lu Guangzu equalizing at 20-all, Li Jiahao won the set 22-20.
In the decisive third set, Lu Guangzu began to pull away after a 14-all tie. Although Lee Chia-hao came close at 18-19, Lu Guangzu secured the final victory with a score of 21-18.
Lee Chia-hao performed exceptionally well, defeating the 3rd seed Li Shi-feng in the quarterfinals and the 8th seed Lin Chun-yi in the semifinals, marking his first career appearance in a Super 500 final.
While three Chinese representatives reached the finals, Wang Zhi-yi withdrew from the women’s singles final, and Guo Xinwa/Li Qian lost to Malaysia’s Chen Tangjie/Toh Ee Wei in the mixed doubles final. Only Lu Guangzu claimed a title.
Wang Chi-lin and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh, lost to the strong Korean duo of Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk with scores of 27-25, 23-25, and 11-21 in the semifinals of the Super 500 Series Korea Open. Following the match, Wang Chi-lin commented, “The results have exceeded expectations, and the performance is quite satisfactory.”
The Lin-Chiu pair fought hard for 68 minutes before falling short of reaching the final. Wang Chi-lin noted, “Although it’s a bit disappointing, the results have exceeded expectations, and the performance is quite satisfactory. There is still plenty of room for improvement and adjustment.”
Wang Chi-lin also praised his new partner, the 21-year-old Chiu Hsiang-hsiang, saying, “My younger partner, Chiu, performed admirably. We will continue to work hard!”
Furthermore, the Chinese Taipei Open will commence on September 3rd, where Wang Chi-lin will reunite with Lee Yang to defend their home court. “Next week, I’ll be back with Lee Yang. See you at the Chinese Taipei Open!” The Lin-Lee pair is the top seed in men’s doubles, and this will be Lee Yang’s final participation in the Chinese Taipei Open.
The finals of the Korea Open Badminton Championships were scheduled for today, but Chinese No. 2 seed Wang Zhiyi announced her withdrawal before the match. Her opponent in the women’s singles final, Korea’s No. 7 seed Kim Ga-eun, won the championship by default.
After the match, Wang Zhiyi updated her social media to apologize, writing, “I am very sorry that I had to withdraw due to health reasons. I will take a short rest and come back soon. Thank you for being so concerned.”
In yesterday’s semifinals, world No. 6 Wang Zhiyi battled for 1 hour and 18 minutes, narrowly defeating fellow host nation player Shim Yu-jin with a score of 19-21, 21-13, 24-22.
The 2024 Korea Open Badminton Championships are underway this week. In the first round, top seed Shi Yuqi, who has been in poor form recently, advanced by defeating former World No. 1 Son Wan-ho 2-0.
In a post-match interview, Shi Yuqi humorously called himself the weakest World No. 1, laughing throughout: “Every day hasn’t been great, I’m pretty tired, and my body doesn’t feel very good. Well, today I challenged the former World No. 1 (Son Wan-ho) as the weakest World No. 1, and I succeeded.”
Earlier this year, leading up to the Paris Olympics, Shi Yuqi was in top form, winning four BWF World Tour titles and overtaking Viktor Axelsen to help China’s men’s singles reclaim the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in eight years. However, at the Paris Olympics, where he was the top seed and a strong favorite to win, Shi Yuqi was completely out of sorts, suffering a crushing defeat, 12-21, 10-21, to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
After the Olympics, Shi Yuqi stated in an interview that he wouldn’t let the Olympics define him and that he would try again.
Last week, at the Japan Open, Shi Yuqi dyed his hair gray, symbolizing his determination to start fresh, but was unexpectedly defeated in the semifinals, losing 1-2 to 19-year-old French rising star Christo Popov. After the match, Shi Yuqi said, “I hope the younger players get more opportunities to compete.” Clearly, Shi Yuqi is eager for someone to take over the mantle of China’s men’s singles, allowing his weary self to find some relief.
This week at the Korea Open, Shi Yuqi again hinted at his poor physical condition, possibly due to injuries. He even joked about being the weakest World No. 1, indicating that consecutive losses have severely dented his confidence. Additionally, with several of his peers, like Liu Yuchen, He Bingjiao, and Ou Xuanyi, recently choosing to retire, Shi Yuqi’s mindset may have also been affected.
Amid ongoing tensions with the Korea Badminton Association, An Se-young took to her social media platform on August 16 to speak out once more. She stated that despite some reconciliation between the two parties, her resolve to change the current state of Korean badminton remains unwavering.
On August 16, An Se-young spoke again, this time with a more composed yet firm tone. She began by apologizing for any harm her previous remarks may have caused her teammates, acknowledging that her approach to addressing these issues lacked maturity and flexibility. Nevertheless, she emphasized that, although some degree of reconciliation has been reached with the Korean Badminton Association, her determination to reform the state of Korean badminton has never wavered.
On the same day, Kim Hak-gyun, the head coach of the Korean national badminton team, attended the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism’s investigation meeting for the first time.
Reflecting on her experience at the 2023 Asian Games, where her knee injury was overlooked and left untreated, An Se-young noted that injuries are the greatest adversary in an athlete’s career. She expressed her desire for timely and effective support when injured and called on the Korea Badminton Association to provide flexible and efficient treatment for all injured athletes, allowing them to compete without concerns.
An Se-young also expressed her hopes for sincere dialogue with the Korea Badminton Association in the future, rather than focusing on assigning blame. She urged the association not to evade the Ministry’s investigation and encouraged everyone to take proactive steps together. She hopes that under a reasonable system, athletes can focus on their matches and perform at their best.
An Se-young has withdrawn from the Japan Open and Korea Open in August due to ankle and knee injuries. She stated that she is currently undergoing rehabilitation training and hopes to make a full recovery. Fearing that her injuries might permanently prevent her from playing badminton, and in response to the care and support she has received, she decided to make the above statements.
