The Round of 16 at the CLASH ROYALE Arctic Open 2024, powered by YONEX, proved difficult for most European players, with only two doubles pairs and one singles player advancing to the quarterfinals.
Despite the tough day, exciting matchups are set for tomorrow.
Alex Lanier of France faced Nhat Nguyen from Ireland in the only all-European clash of the day. After a tight 24-22 first game, Lanier dominated the second with a 21-9 victory. He will now challenge Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei, whom he previously defeated at the Japan Open.
In men’s doubles, Danish pair Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen battled Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan, winning a three-game thriller 21-13, 13-21, 21-9.
The English duo of Ben Lane/Sean Vendy also secured their spot in the quarterfinals after a commanding 21-13, 21-8 victory over Malaysia’s third seeds Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik.
Taiwanese badminton men’s doubles star Lee Yang held his retirement ceremony yesterday, during which a highlight reel of his career was shown, and several badminton stars offered their blessings. These included Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man, and Indonesia’s doubles specialists Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. Lee Yang remarked that, at the beginning of the ceremony, the atmosphere felt like a class reunion, but after hearing everyone’s blessings, he truly realized that he had reached the end of his career.
Lee’s former partners, from Chiang Yu-Wei and Lee Jhe-Huei to Wang Chi-Lin, with whom he won an Olympic gold medal, all attended the event to offer their best wishes. Lee Yang made a special comment to Lee Jhe-Huei, saying, “In the past, you were always the first to leave practice early, but this time, it’s my turn to leave the court first.” After saying this, he couldn’t hold back his tears. Chiang Yu-Wei also shared a story, calling Lee Yang a “serious perfectionist.” He mentioned that when they played singles games, the loser had to buy drinks or do push-ups, “But Lee Yang would always seriously record who should be punished on his phone. I’d think, is that really necessary?”
Lee Yang said, “I’m very grateful to myself for sticking with it for so long. I would sleep at 11 p.m. every day and wake up at 7:20 a.m. If there was anything that could help my badminton, I would want to do it.”
After the retirement ceremony, Lee Yang posted an emotional message on social media, saying that in a few years, he wasn’t sure if people would still remember him. Reflecting on his past efforts, he recalled how a “little chubby boy” fought hard on the badminton court, pushing himself to be disciplined just to show his best form. Now, that little chubby boy must say a proper goodbye to the court he loved and to the people who supported him. He ended his message with, “The curtain falls on Lee Yang’s badminton career.”
Regarding his post-retirement plans, Lee Yang revealed that he will begin teaching at a sports university today. In the future, he hopes to find time to organize a cycling trip around Taiwan and to travel to the U.S. to watch NBA basketball games.
Hendra Setiawan, born August 25, 1984 in Malang, Indonesia, is an Indonesian men’s badminton doubles player who won the men’s doubles gold medal with his partner Markis at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In October 2003, Hendra Setiawan participated in the Asian Badminton Championships held in his home country, and won the second place in the men’s doubles of the Asian Championships with his partner Markis Kido.
In September 2005, Hendra Sethiawan participated in the Asian Badminton Championships in Hyderabad, India, and won the Asian Championships Men’s Doubles title with partner Markis Kido. In the same year, he and Marquise Kido played in the Indonesia Open Badminton Championships and won the Men’s Doubles title.
In April 2006, Hendra Setiawan was selected as the main men’s doubles starter in the Thomas Cup, helping Indonesia win the third place in the men’s team.
In October 2006, Hendra participated in the Badminton World Cup in Yiyang, Hunan Province, China, where he played with his partner Malkis Kiddo and won the Men’s Doubles title with a 2-0 victory (21-18, 21-15) over Malaysia’s Faluz Zuan/Ling Boon Hwee in the final, winning the first World Cup title of his career, and ushering in the moment when he became the new World Champion.
In August 2007, Hendra represented Indonesia at the World Badminton Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he and Marquise Kido competed in the Men’s Doubles event. In the final, he welcomed the 13th seed of the tournament, Korea’s strongest gear Jung Jae Sung / Lee Yong Dae, no doubt 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) to take down their opponents, won the men’s doubles title of badminton career for the first time in the World Championships, renewed after the World Cup, once again will be the badminton federation of the important competitions in the hands of. In December of the same year, he represented Malaysia at the Southeast Asian Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, where he helped his team win the mixed team gold medal, and with his partner, Marquise Kiddo, he won the men’s doubles gold medal at the East Asian Games, making him the double champion of this year’s East Asian Games.
In August 2008, Hendra Setiawan represented Indonesia in the Olympic badminton tournament held in Beijing, China. In the final, facing the No. 2 seed of the tournament, China’s Fu Haifeng / Cai Yun, caught in a bitter battle to 2-1 (12-21, 21-11, 21-16) overcame the opponent, for Indonesia to win the Olympic Games men’s doubles gold medal.
In 2009 Hendra Setiawan and Marquise Kido participated in the Asian Badminton Championships held in Suwon City, South Korea, in the final, facing the tournament’s No. 8 seed, South Korea’s strongest file of Gao Sung Hyun / Ryu Yeon Seong, to 2-0 (21-18, 26-24) force to overcome their opponents, individuals win the third Asian Championships Men’s Doubles Championships. In December of the same year, he represented Indonesia at the Southeast Asian Games badminton tournament in Vientiane, Laos, where he successfully defended his Eastern Games men’s doubles gold medal with partner Marquise Kido.
In November 2010, Hendra represented Indonesia in the Asian Games badminton tournament held in Guangzhou, China. In the final, he welcomed the tournament’s top seed, Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Hong, and once again got into a tough battle to win the Asian Games Men’s Doubles Gold Medal at the highest level of the Asian Games with a hard-fought comeback of 2-1 (16-21, 26-24, 21-19).
In January 2013, Hendra Setiawan and Muhammad Ahsan competed in the Malaysia Badminton Superseries, defeating the tournament’s No. 6 seed and Korean powerhouse Ko Sung Hyun/Lee Yong Dae 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) in the men’s doubles final, also representing their first international Superseries men’s doubles title.
In August 2013, Ahsan/Hendra competed in the Men’s Doubles event at the World Badminton Championships in Guangzhou, China. In the final, Hendra/Ahsan took on the No. 3 seeds, Bowie & Morgensen of Denmark, and won the title by defeating their opponents 2-0 (21-13, 23-21) in 33 minutes; this was also Hendra’s World Championships title after a 6-year hiatus.
In March 2014, Hendra Setiawan and Muhammad Ahsan played in the All England Badminton Premier Super Tournament, defeating the tournament’s No. 2 seed and Japanese powerhouse, Dayu Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) in the men’s doubles final, which was also the first All-England men’s doubles title of his badminton career that he won individually and with his partner. In September of the same year, he represented Indonesia in the Asian Games badminton tournament held in Incheon, South Korea, facing another group of South Korea’s Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong in the final, caught in a bitter struggle to defeat their opponents 2-1 (21-16, 16-21, 21-17), which is also his personal and different partners to win the men’s doubles gold medal at the Asian Games two times, successfully defended for the domination of Indonesia in this event.
He participated in the World Badminton Championships held in his home country in August 2015, where he and Muhammad Ahsan played in the men’s doubles event. The final was an unchallenged and easy 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) win over the tournament’s 9th seeds, Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan of China, winning the men’s doubles title at the World Championships again after a year. In December of the same year, he and Mohamed Ahsan played in the BWF Super Series Finals. In the final, the team took down Chai Biao/Hong Wei of China 2-1 (13-21, 21-14, 21-14) in a three-set battle to win his first men’s doubles title at the year-end badminton finals.
In March 2019, Hendra and Mohammad Ahsan played in the All England Open Badminton Championships, defeating Malaysian powerhouse Xie Dingfeng/Su Weiye in the men’s doubles final 2-1 (11-21, 21-14, 21-12) to regain the Super 1000 men’s doubles title after a five-year hiatus.
In August 2019, Hendra and Mohammad Ahsan played at the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, defeating the Japanese duo of Jorang Hiroki/Yugo Kobayashi in the final to win their fourth World Championships Men’s Doubles title.
In 2021, Hendra won the 2020 Thomas Cup badminton men’s team event.
