Badminton photo
Today the finals were held at the Super 750-tournament.
The winners in mixed double are Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping [1] from China.
The winner in woman singles is Wang Zhi Yi [2] from China.
The winners in womans double are Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi [4] from Japan
The winner in men singles is Anders Antonsen [2] from Denmark.
The winner in mens double are Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang [1] from China.
After almost a week at VICTOR DENMARK OPEN, where we have witnessed fierce battles and strong performances, it all culminates with the finals today.
Yesterday’s semifinals were marked by evenly matched games and nail-biting close scores on the scoreboard.
At the finals today, there are exciting matchups to look forward to in every single one of the categories, where the seedings have proven to be correct several times.
Get an overview of today’s finals here:
Mixed doubles: Yan Zhe Feng/Dong Ping Huang (1) – Zhen Bang Jiang/Ya Xin Wei (2)
Women’s singles: Wang Zhi Yi (2) – An Se Young (1)
Women’s doubles: Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi (4) – Sheng Shu Liu/Ning Tan (1)
Men’s singles: Anders Antonsen (2) – Koki Watanabe
Men’s doubles: Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (2) – Wei Keng Liang/Chang Wang (1) Kina
Written by: BWF
“We’re desperate to make this chance count,” were the words of Kim Astrup after he and partner, Anders Skaarup Rasmussen booked their tickets to the final of the VICTOR Denmark Open 2024 following a thrilling 20-22 21-18 21-11 win over Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto in Odense.
It is the second final for the Danes on home soil after competing in the 2021 edition. They are set to face Olympic silver medallists and top seeds, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang for the crown.
“We benefited from the crowd. We really fed off of the crowd being wild and enthusiastic, added Astrup. “The audience is getting better every year and we enjoy that. We have a lot of respect for Liang and Wang. They are world No. 1 for a reason and we have beaten them in Denmark before. We hope to do it again in the final.”
Rasmussen conquered with his partners comments on how the Danish crowd added extra motivation and revealed how happy they are reaching two consecutive finals following their silver at the Arctic Open last week.
“I think we’ve been at this level for a long period. It’s even better than the 2021 final, which was really special in terms of the timing of the birth of my son just afterwards. We’ll take it easy in the final. We’ll take our time, no stress. I think the crowd is growing every year at the Denmark Open. It’s really magical. They’re loud and they are wild. It’s really special for us to be in the final.”
The Danish duo are hoping to be the first Danish men’s doubles pair to be crowned champions since Mathias Boe/Carsten Morgensen in 2010. Rasmussen shared how they would use their disappointments from their previous Denmark Open appearances as fuel: “You have to do everything right against those guys. There’s not one solution. You have to be good in defence, offence and on your serve and return area. It’s not really a matter of what to do, it’s about being better overall, which is a difficult task, but it’s possible.”
The Danish crowd will have plenty to cheer about as home hope, Anders Antonsen made his second final after outmanoeuvring Kenta Nishimoto 21-15 21-14 in the semifinal.
The 2024 European champion told BWF: “It feels so good. I’m super happy. I feel I’ve been practicing well and I didn’t succeed at the Olympics. The tournaments afterwards came with a lot of stress regarding the situation I’ve been through. There have been some close but no cigar moments in the quarterfinals. So, it feels amazing to finally be through to a final and I’ll be my absolute best. I am looking forward to a vacation after the finals. I have a place booked in the South of Spain for the night of the finals, so it looks like I will need to postpone that, haha [sic].”
WHAT OTHERS SAID:
“I really like the Denmark Open. There’s one restaurant I go to, to have big steak and potatoes.” – Huang Don’t Ping on making her fourth Denmark Open final and what keeps her energised.
“We were quite fatigued from yesterday’s match and playing two weeks in a row but we prepared ourselves for the match better in the semifinals. We know the steak restaurant Huang mentioned. We went all together. Just the girls.” – Wei Ya Xin on their scare against the Indonesians in the quarterfinals and coming through 21-17 21-9 over Kim Won Ho/Jeong Na Ean
“I want to send my best to Gregoria to feel better soon. No player wants to win a match this way. There’s a background situation happening and it’s not completely resolved and it affects my concentration on court. I want to focus on the final and do my best.” – An Se Young after Gregoria Mariska Tunjung retired 20-21 12-12 with a back injury during their semifinal match and on how she has been preparing for tournaments since winning Olympic gold.
“We hadn’t gone past the first round of the Denmark Open before. This is our fourth attempt and we have made it to the final. It’s amazing. I think the practice hall being so close to the venue has made all the difference. Seriously, haha.” – Wang Chang on reaching their first final at the Denmark Open.
“I have improved a lot and all the work I have done with INCEP has been good. I’m proud of the build-up phase and if I take in the whole picture, it’s been a good year but it’s not over yet. I’m keeping positive.” – Alex Lanier on how he started playing 2024 playing International Challenges to Super 750s and above nine months late.
“This is a breakthrough moment for us. Winning today means we are improving. We are overwhelmed with happiness that it takes over from how physically tired we are. With Nakanishi having my back at the rear court, I was able to go up front and keep a close net game. Let’s say I had the easier part whereas my partner had to work hard. Rin Iwanaga jests with media after she and partner, and Kie Nakanishi collected their biggest win of their career by defeating Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee after a 95 minute slugfest to enter their first Super 750 final. It is the first win in seven meetings over the Korean pair.
Badminton photo
Today the semifinals will be held at the super 750-tournament VICTOR Denmark Open 2024!
Yesterday was filled with hard and long matches, so we are excited to see, what today will bring from the courts.
Today you can look forward to several unnerving matches and lots of star players such as An Se Young [1], Liang/Wang [1] and the homecrowd favorites Anders Antonsen [2] and Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup [2].
Furthermore the semifinals in the mixed double category only consists of seeded players.
Feng/Huang [1] will meet Tang/Tse [4], and Kim/Jeong [3] will meet Jiang/Wei [2].
Click here for the order of play for saturday’s matches
The VICTOR DENMARK OPEN will take place from October 15th-20th.
Written by: BWF
Denmark Open 2023 champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik will not get to the chance to defend their title in Odense as they were outclassed by Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi 22-20 21-15 during quarterfinals day at the VICTOR Denmark Open.
Taking 41 minutes to complete their mission, the third ranked Chinese men’s doubles pair enter their first semifinal in a Super 750 this year.
“This is the first one so far this year and we got to one semifinal last year so this is a great breakthrough moment for us as a pair,” said Liu. “The key was to push the Malaysians. Apply the pressure, do our best and keep coming forward. We watched our last match with them and realised a big difference in the front court. The focus was not on finishing the shots but to make it long and stable, then smash it.”
The last encounter between the pair was last week at the Arctic Open where the Chinese duo had fallen to Chia and Soh in the opening round. A beaming Chen could not hold back his happiness. “I am happy and excited at the same time. It’s sweet revenge for us. We lost to them last week and finally, we could beat them. It’s a great step forward for us to challenge the bigger pairs. The win makes us feel we have unlocked a new level but I think they [Chia/Soh] are not quite at their best and the court conditions worked for us.”
The pair will face teammates and Olympic silver medallists, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang in the semifinal. This will be their second competitive encounter following their last meeting at the 2023 China Masters, with the advantage to Liang and Wang.
When pressed if they will speak to their teammates before the match, Chen laughed. “Actually, it’s a secret.”
Home hero, Anders Antonsen made his third semifinal at the Denmark Open after a highly charged match with Li Shi Feng where the Dane came off the better in 12-21 21-8 22-20.
Antonsen said: “I’ve faced him multiple times, and I think he [Li] enjoyed it. He likes to stare me down a little bit. I’ve seen some of our past matches where I actually didn’t see it during the match because perhaps, I had my back turned to him when he was doing that. I know that he likes to do stuff like, get in your face a little bit and shout.
“It’s all good. I respect him. No matter what, he is a phenomenal player who has already achieved great things. It was great to play against him and I’m sure we’ll have more rock battles in the future. All respect to Li. I don’t care about stuff like that. It’s in the moment, it’s heated, and it’s how the game is but it’s fun. It’s been a few years since I have done well here and I’m happy to do it again.” Antonsen will play Nishimoto in the semifinal.
WHAT OTHERS SAID:
“This is my first big tournament since the Olympics and it’s not an overwhelming feeling. I’m not focusing so much on points and winning. I want to play my matches with joy and not feeling stressed.” – An Se Young after her quarterfinal win 12-21 21-10 21-12 over Supanida Katethong.
“The first game was quite comfortable for me but I was struggling to adjust to the drift in the second game. I had to anticipate her shots throughout and I think I did that well today.” – Gregoria Mariska Tunjung is through to her second semifinal at the Denmark Open since her last appearance in 2018.
“I’m happy that we have training Monday again. We must be proud of this. It’s a quarterfinal at a Super 750 on home soil. We are really disappointed. I think that’s a good thing because we knew and we know we can show a better level in the future.” – Jesper Toft reflects on his quarterfinal loss at the Denmark Open alongside partner, Amalie Magelund.
“There are a lot of Indian fans in the arena and the support always means a lot. I’m very thankful to each one of them. There were Telugu people, maybe from Hyderabad. I’m grateful that it’s been a good run but I think these matches definitely make a difference to step forward and do much better for the audience.” – Pusarla V. Sindhu on how the Indian support in Denmark out rivalled that of Indonesia.
“I think we played all the right tactics and prepared ourselves against them, although they are a new pair. I think he [Toft] has great overhead reach and in some situations can prove to be really quite dangerous in that area.” – Tang Chun Man
“I can’t quite believe it. I’ve never gotten this far into competition at a 750. I like to relax after matches like this by scrolling through Tik Tok and eating my favourite food. Idome.” – Putri Kasuma Wardani on making her first ever semifinal at a Super 750 after defeating Yeo Jia Min 20-22 21-11 21-18.
“I’m sorry for the long match and you were all waiting to speak to me but I love the long game. I’m 100 per cent ready to go again in the semifinal.” – Kenta Nishimoto jokes with media after his lengthy 87-minute match where he ousted defending champion, Weng Hong Yang 21-17 15-21 21-18.
Olympic gold medalist Viktor Axelsen is among the players set to take the court on Tuesday at the VICTOR DENMARK OPEN.
For the next six days, there will be a badminton celebration at the Jyske Bank Arena in Odense.
The VICTOR DENMARK OPEN 2024 is being held this week, and if you want to see a lot of Danish players in action, Tuesday is a great day to head to the arena.
11 matches on Tuesday will feature Danish participation, and in three of those matches, there will even be Danes on both sides of the net.
One of those matches includes Sara Thygesen and Maiken Fruergaard, who are beginning their last tournament together as a pair.
See the full Tuesday match schedule here
The VICTOR DENMARK OPEN will take place from October 15-20.