On Day 1 in Lund, Mads Thøgersen surprisingly knocked out Arnaud Merkle in the qualification round in Men’s Singles. 

Thursday was a tough, but good day for Mads Thøgersen. The Dane reached the First Round of the RSL Swedish Open after three qualification matches. 

As the last and toughest of his three matches, Thøgersen had to face Arnaud Merkle from France, who recently won the YONEX Estonian International. 

- My expectations for the match against Arnaud were not that high, because I know that he is a strong opponent. I just wanted to have a good match and enjoy it, Thørgersen told Badminton Europe.  

- I am also proud of my shot between the legs. I think, it was the shot of the day, the Dane added. 

Find Thøgersen's between-the-leg shot here

After playing in Tallinn last week and three matches in Lund on Thursday, Merkle had a tough match program.

- I was a bit tired today, I am also sick and injured, which is not the best combination. But Mads was also very strong, Merkle said.