Danish badminton star Anders Antonsen fires his coach for placing bets

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Danish star badminton player Anders Antonsen announced the firing of his coach Joachim Persson with immediate effect for placing bets on matches, interestingly the ones not involving him.

Most recently, Anders Antonsen was forced to retire due to an injury from the Japan Open. The World No. 3 shuttler took to Instagram to reveal his decision in order to avoid speculations from the media.

Notably, as per the reports published in the Indian Express, Joachim Persson was involved in a similar scandal back in 2019 and was banned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for 18 months. However, Persson didn’t agree with the BWF’s decision at that time, terming it “totally ridiculous”.

It’s worth mentioning that Antonsen has been associated with Persson since 2022 when the shuttler was struggling with injuries and struggling for form. However, he turned things around at the start of 2023, making the cut for the semi-finals at the All-England Open.

He started the 2024 season with two consecutive titles at the Malaysian Open and Indonesian Masters. Later, he went on to clinch the European Championships title in April. At the Paris Olympics 2024, he made it to the quarter-final and suffered a defeat to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia.

Anders Antonsen’s full statement:

“Dear all, I'm terminating my coaching agreement with Joachim with immediate effect. I've been trying to work out a way of communicating this message which isn't easy. Joachim and I has been a successful player/coach constellation and therefore this decision would raise eyebrows and questions. To avoid unnecessary speculation and media digging for answers, I wish to tell the story as it is right away,” he wrote.

“The other day I by coincidence got to see my coach placing bets on one match taking place in the arena. As a coach of one player competing in the BWF, this is a violation. As a player competing in the BWF you're obligated to report such behavior as soon as it comes to your knowledge. Failing not to report such information would be a violation on the BWF code of conduct,” the statement read.

“I want to distance myself from this behavior and therefore the only option has been to report and terminate our agreement. Joachim has been my only coach since I went independent. He has been a huge part of my comeback story. We have traveled the world together. We have fought crazy battles on the court together. We did amazing and accomplished multiple tournament wins together,” the statement went on to read.

“I'll always be grateful for the time we've spent. So obviously I'm absolutely gutted and sick to my stomach that this is the way our ways end. I would like to clarify that I don't know anything about the duration of this behavior. I know about one single incident of placing bets on a random match - but that for me is enough.”

Also the match didn't include myself! I'm now left in a very complicated situation. Without coach and heading in to a very busy travel schedule with tournaments and practice camps coming up. I'll do my best to solve the puzzle and move on as fast as I can. I wish to get some space to evaluate everything and I hope the media will leave me alone for a little while. I've said everything there is to say for now. Thanks guys,” the statement concluded.