Badminton Australia welcomes world top-10 Danish Men’s Singles player Anders Antonsen who is spending time in Australia during the lead up to the start of his 2024 season.
Anders will be in the country for a few weeks of training ahead of his next tournament, the PETRONAS Malaysian Open in January.
“Australia is very far from Denmark, but since I had just finished competing at a tournament in Asia (HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023) and will be playing in Asia again in early January, it made sense to have a stopover here,” he said.
“It’s one of the aspects I love about being a badminton player, having the opportunity to travel to new countries and exploring different cultures and cuisines.
“I am really into food and coffee, and I’ve heard that Melbourne is a great place for it.”
Anders had a strong year on court in 2023 which included a Bronze Medal at the BWF World Championships on home soil in Denmark, Gold at the Korea Open and another Bronze just recently at the BWF World Tour Finals in China.
While in the country Anders will spend time on court sparring against Australian Falcons, which began with a session with Ricky Tang earlier in the week.
“It was a light session today, but we will definitely increase as the week progresses,” Anders said.
“Hopefully the players will have some great sessions and I will do my best to help them on court. I am grateful for them coming down to play.”
Ricky was the first Falcon to step on court with Anders on Tuesday morning and embraced every minute of the experience.
“It was an honour to train with Anders and his coach. I was a bit nervous coming into the session, but they were very welcoming and helpful,” Ricky said.
“I feel like I’ve taken a lot away from the session. It was fantastic to gain first-hand experience of the European style of training and be a part of his preparations before he competes in Malaysia.”
Ricky also had a standout year on court, which included Gold in the Men’s Singles at the YONEX National Championships in Bendigo, in addition to his Australian Sudirman Cup squad debut in China.
His next tournament is the VICTOR Badminton Oceania Championships where he will be in action in both the Men’s Team Championship and Individuals.
National Head Coach Leanne Choo said training with Anders presented a unique experience for the Australian players.
“We are thrilled that Anders has chosen to come to Australia to train in the lead-up to the PETRONAS Malaysian Open in January,” Leanne said.
“While in the country he will be sparring with some of the Australian Falcons, which for them is an incredible opportunity.
“They will have the chance to learn from a world top-10 singles player who will no doubt challenge them, while also provide a great insight into how they can improve their own performances on court.
“Overall, we hope he enjoys his time with us, and we look forward to working with him.”
Anders’ passion for badminton extends far beyond just competitive play as he is dedicated to promoting the sport and creating content to reach greater audiences.
Part of this involves hosting a podcast with fellow Danish player Hans-Kristian Vittinghus called The Badminton Experience.
“I’ve always been into creating content and I enjoy following sports that are good at branding,” Anders said.
“Creating a podcast was just another way to do something fun that was related to badminton. On the podcast we talk about all things badminton amongst ourselves and sometimes we invite other players onto the show.
“I have been travelling a lot lately which makes it hard to release content consistently, but I am trying my best to get more content out in the future.”
