Sometimes Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen surprise even themselves. The triumph at the China Open Super 1000 tournament has surpassed all of their expectations.

The current European Champions beat Chinese duo Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong in a three-game match, 21-13, 17-21, 21-14 (52 minutes) to take the men’s doubles title in Changzhou.

The Danes admitted, in the wake of the triumph to yield their first HBSC World Tour title:


"This is absolutely crazy. I did not believe we are that good. But apparently we are“, Anders Skaarup Rasmussen told Danish tv station TV2 Sport straight after the match.



"In these five matches at the China Open we played above our level. That’s fantastic. We are just happy and proud of our achievement“, Kim Astrup added.



Another victory for Europe’s badminton queen


Olympic champion Carolina Marin beat China's Chen Yufei 21-18, 21-13 in 47 minutes to take the women's singles title. The Spanish sixth seed became the first European women’s singles player to win the prestigious event in China.

Japan's Kento Momota suffered a shock loss in China on Sunday as he was bested by Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in just two sets. The third seed, who took the Japan Open title on home ground last week, was beaten by world number 13 Ginting 23-21, 21-19.



The VICTOR China Open 2018 finals results:



MS: Anthony Ginting (INA) - Kento Momota (JPN) 23-21, 21-19

WS: Carolina Marin (ESP) - Chen Yufei (CHN) 21-18, 21-13

MD: Kim Astrup/Anders Rasmussen (DEN) - Han Chengkai/Zhou Haodong (CHN) 21-13, 17-21, 21-14

WD: Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (JPN) - Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi (JPN) 21-16, 21-12

XD: Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong (CHN) - Zhang Nan/Li Yinhui (CHN) 21-16, 21-9