KUALA LUMPUR – Denmark’s men’s singles player Anders Antonsen is seen as one of the top contenders to clinch the Malaysia Masters title as the competition is set to kick off at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
Antonsen will enter the tournament as the second seed behind his compatriot, Viktor Axelsen, who is also considered a favourite to dominate the competition.
However, Antonsen has had a more successful season so far, securing three titles – the Malaysia Open, Indonesia Masters, and European Championship – while Axelsen has yet to secure any championship titles this season.
Moreover, he was the only Danish player who remained undefeated during the Thomas Cup campaign in Chengdu earlier this month, despite Denmark’s surprising loss to Taiwan in the quarter-finals.
Antonsen arrived in Kuala Lumpur early – immediately following the Thomas Cup – to engage in rigorous training sessions ahead of the four upcoming tournaments across Southeast Asia.
“I think I’m in a good place overall. I’ve been performing well this year.
“Even though I lost last week at the Thailand Open, it doesn’t mean much. I’m still in a very good position,” said Antonsen.
“I’m not bothered by this. I know I’m among the players who are capable of performing well and actually winning this tournament, but I believe it’s a fair assessment that there are 32 other players who have the level to do so.
“I didn’t perform as I hoped at the French Open and All England, but then I won the European Championship, and I was very happy with that.
“I continued to play at the European Team Championship and Thomas Cup, so overall, I have nearly 30 wins and only three losses this year. It’s still a very good year.”
Despite his success, Antonsen remains humble, acknowledging the depth of talent in men’s singles today compared to the era dominated by a few players like Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan, and Chen Long.
“I don’t think that far ahead (winning the Malaysia Masters). As mentioned before, there are too many good players now.
“I’ve seen 32 players that I could lose to on their best day, and if I don’t play at my very best, anyone can beat me.
“Men’s singles is now at a stage where there are so many players, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a world number 20 player suddenly won the tournament.
“Men’s singles is no longer about one or two players now; it’s a whole different game,” he added.
If Antonsen manages to win this tournament, he will make history as the second European player to win the Malaysia Masters after Axelsen did so in 2018. — May 20, 2024