Anders Antonsen’s World Championships Run Ends After Gruelling Quarter-Final Battle

Anders Antonsen's World Championships campaign came to an end in the quarter-finals after the fourth-seeded Dane was beaten 21-19, 21-15 by Japan's Kodai Naraoka.

Antonsen, who won a medal at the previous World Championships, was unable to produce his best badminton after being pushed through two gruelling three-game battles in the earlier rounds against Nhat Nguyen and Toma Junior Popov.

The Dane admitted afterwards that he struggled physically and mentally during the quarter-final, describing himself as "slow" and "heavy" after failing to recover properly between matches.

"I felt slow, I felt heavy, I felt annoyed. Yeah, not a good day in the office," Antonsen said in his post-match mixed-zone interview.

"I had tough few rounds the last two days, and you know, I wasn't really able to get proper recovery, I guess, in between matches and stuff."

Antonsen had an opportunity to change the complexion of the contest after a tight opening game but could not close it out, with Naraoka taking it 21-19 before controlling the second 21-15.

The Dane felt losing the first game was particularly costly.

"It's a shame that I didn't manage to steal that first game, that could have changed things for me," he said.

"But yeah, not my best match today, to be honest, so I'm quite disappointed."

Anders Antonsen caught out by changing conditions

The four-time World Championships medallist also revealed that the playing conditions had changed during the tournament, with the drift moving in the opposite direction on Friday.

"I thought I was starting playing with the drift, but actually I was playing against the drift, and I couldn't get good length on my shots, so that caught me by surprise," Antonsen explained.

The defeat ended what had otherwise been an eventful run for Antonsen in India, where he returned for the first time in around three and a half years.

"Happy to be back in India for the first time in, I don't know, three and a half years or something, so it was good, I enjoyed my matches here, some nerve-wracking games, but yeah, today I'm disappointed, very disappointed."

Antonsen has also attracted attention online during the tournament, with some of his shots going viral on social media. But the Dane admitted that was the last thing on his mind after falling short of his target.

"Right now I'm not in the mood to think so much about that, I'm just disappointed in the matches I just lost, lost out in the quarter-finals here at the World Championships, and I definitely aimed for more," he said.

Antonsen's exit means both Danish singles players have now been eliminated in the quarter-finals, with Line Christophersen also ending her campaign in the last eight.