One of globe’s top badminton players, Anders Antonsen’s ambition is to become the number one-ranked player in the world. Hailing from Denmark, the 2015 European Young Player of the Year already has a string of medals to his name, including gold at the 2015 European Junior Championships, silver at the 2019 World Championships and silver at the 2017 European Championships. He was the 2019 Minsk European Games champion, and has also won several events with the Danish National Team, including the European Men’s Team Championships in both 2016 and 2018 and the European Mixed Team Championships in 2017 and 2019.
Antonsen’s badminton career kicked off when he just six years old, learning from his father who worked at a leading Danish badminton club. His international debut came at the 2013 Forza Denmark International tournament, and two years later he defeated Max Weißkirchen of Germany to win the 2015 European Junior Championship. The following year, Antonsen won the Scottish Open Grand Prix – his first Grand Prix victory – and also won a number of other tournaments including the Belgian International, Dutch International and Irish Open, and was named as the 2015 European Young Player of the Year.
Antonsen continued to rack up impressive results and victories, and in 2019 he faced reigning champion Kento Momota at the final of the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland. Antonsen missed out to first-seeded Momota but took home his first World Championship silver medal. With the Tokyo Olympic games just around the corner, Antonsen is a serious contender and a leading threat for the gold medal.