Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Kim Astrup from Denmark had an extra special win in Round 1 of Japan Open, on Wednesday.
The men’s doubles took revenge from the 2017 BWF World Championships in Glasgow, where they suffered an early defeat in their first match.
Just like then, Min Chun Liao and Cheng Heng Su from Chinese Taipei was on the opposite site of the net, but the difference this time around was that the Danes came out on top.
- During most of the match, we were the ones in control, Skaarup Rasmussen tells Badminton Europe.
Forced into three sets
Skaarup Rasmussen explained why they were forced into a deciding set despite being on top during most of the match;
- By the end of the second set, they played insanely good rallies which made it impossible for us to close the match in two sets.
The Danes were in the lead throughout the third set and after one hour of play Liao and Su fell short; 21-16, 24-26, 21-15.
Respect from Glasgow
The first-round defeat at the World Championships in Glasgow must have left a small imprint on the Danes, but at Japan Open they were able to move past it.
- They are not a bad pair and we had great respect for them on top of the match at the World Championships, which hit us hard.
On Thursday, the Danes are looking forward to face Isara and Phuangphuapet from Thailand in Round 2 of Japan Open.
Find more results from Japan Open
here.