Malaysia Open: New Year, New Hair, New Antonsen
The last time Anders Antonsen took to a badminton court on the HSBC BWF World Tour, the Dane was unmistakeably sporting a long hair, with his blonde locks tied back.
· PREM KUMAR
Recurring injuries sent him missing from the scene for four months that when he returned today at PETRONAS Malaysia Open 2023 – his first match since losing the Japan Open semifinal to Kenta Nishimoto in early September – he wore a fresher look with a neat barnet.
In the hair-raiser against Weng Hong Yang, Antonsen displayed steely determination to haul himself back 8-21 22-20 21-19 from a losing position. Momentarily, the 25-year-old was even two match points down.
“Extremely happy I found a way to win,” said Antonsen. “Definitely not easy, it’s fair to say I was quite rusty. I haven't played a match for so long, not even a training match. That I could win the very first match, I'm surprised by that.”