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Defeated Antonsen falls in love with Istora
Anders Antonsen (AFP/Adek Berry)Despite failing to secure his first super 1000 level tournament at the final of the 2019 Blibli Indonesia Open on Sunday, Anders Antonsen of Denmark could not help but fall in love with what the Istora Senayan had to offer
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Anders Antonsen (AFP/Adek Berry)
Despite failing to secure his first super 1000 level tournament at the final of the 2019 Blibli Indonesia Open on Sunday, Anders Antonsen of Denmark could not help but fall in love with what the Istora Senayan had to offer.
After losing 21-18, 24-26, 21-15 to Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan in an intense battle, the 22-year-old said he somehow enjoyed the drifts, which are disliked by most players. He said they were beneficial to some extent for his tactical playing style.
“There’s a lot of drifts in here and it has a big impact on the game, which makes it a little bit more of a tactical game. You have to use your brain a lot,” he said. “I think I am kind of like a tactical player [and] not physically the strongest player. But I think I have a good mind. I am good at thinking even though it’s crucial at times.”
Antonsen proved that he had the ability to survive the tough situation in the final as he managed to save crucial points in the second game against Chou.
With several deuces in the second game, the Dane managed to win the race to force a decider.
“The difficulty of a situation like that is to stay calm because the crowd was [getting] louder and louder. Even though you are kind of trying to not hear [it], it’s impossible,” he said.
“I was trying to stay calm and get the attack, try to take control of the rally,” he added.
At the end of the day, however, Antonsen admitted that he was not the strongest men’s singles player in terms of physical stamina.
He acknowledged Chou’s power as he stumbled at the decider because of his low fitness. Both Chou and he were lying on the court after the last point because of the exhaustion caused by long rallies in the 1 hour and 31 minute match.
World number 11 Antonsen came to Jakarta with winning the title on his mind as he managed to steal one in the Indonesia Masters badminton tournament in the capital earlier this year.
His January victory was quite special as he was not accompanied by his coach and team as the Danish players were having trouble with their association at that time.
“Of course I would have loved to win the [Indonesia Open] title, it would have been the greatest achievement of my career.”
“I am really disappointed right now. I guess in a few hours or few days, I will start to appreciate this [accomplishment] a little bit more,” he concluded.
