A huge dream coming true

Badminton stars of Aarhus:

- A huge dream coming true

Two of the world’s best Danish singles players, Line Kjærsfeldt and Anders Antonsen, are especially excited to compete in the Team World Championship, namely because the tournament is being held in their hometown, Aarhus. The two almost cannot believe it themselves but maintain that it will be something very special to play in a world championship for the Danish national team in their own hometown.

By Ida Marie Hove Sørensen

This year’s TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2020 will, for the first time ever, be played on Danish soil, specifically in Aarhus. Aarhus is not just any host city for Anders Antonsen and Line Kjærsfeldt. It’s their place of birth, and their hometown. It’s the city where they first signed up for badminton training. It’s the city they know inside and out. And it’s a city that brings back many happy badminton memories. And that, they believe, is really something special.

- It doesn’t just feel like a place where I’m competing in a world championship, it feels like a home, explains the world championship silver medallist and third-ranked player on the global ranking list, Anders Antonsen.

The championships will be held at the Ceres Park & Arena, located not much more than a stone’s throw away from Antonsen’s childhood home. When you are used to competing in the biggest championships in Asia, on the other side of the globe, it’s guaranteed to be a completely different and unusual experience to play in a team’s world championship just past the backyard of your childhood home. As Anders Antonsen explains:

- It’ll be pretty odd to be at such a big tournament while also being in a place I know so well. After the matches are played, I’ll be walking along the streets and roads I know. And I’ll go to the restaurants I’ve eaten in all my life. But even though it will be strange, I’m convinced that the familiar surroundings and the feeling of being home will positively affect my play on the court.

Antonsen pleased with the home-court advantage

That the world championship is being played in Aarhus, which Anders Antonsen continues to call his “home court,” gives the tournament a whole other meaning for the singles player:

- I really want to do well at the Thomas Cup. Especially when it’s on my home-court. It’ll mean a lot to me, expresses Antonsen.

Antonsen also states that he could not be any more motivated ahead of the world championship in Aarhus.

- It’s definitely extra motivating, that it’s being held in Aarhus. It’s a huge dream of mine to succeed at the Thomas Cup, so of course I feel really motivated.

Motivation, good results, and a certain sense of calm are just some of the attributes Antonsen is bringing along to Aarhus. And the 24-year-old has done well when previously playing in Aarhus. Three Danish Championships have been won in the exact same hall as the world team championships are held. That’s why he sees it as a clear advantage that it’s precisely there, that he, and the rest of the Danish men’s national team will cross rackets with the world’s best badminton players.

- I see it as a big advantage that the world championship is being held in Aarhus. I have some good memories and not least good results from the hall in Aarhus, which I’m sure I can bring with me on the court, expresses Antonsen, and continues:

- I’m relaxed in a different kind of way when I play in Aarhus, and in a hall I know. And I think that’s going to have a positive effect on me.

Aarhus on the world map

It’s the first time that such a big badminton event has visited Aarhus. And that particularly pleases Denmark’s most experienced women’s national team member, Line Kjærsfeldt. With a big smile, she explains that one of the things she’s most looking forward to is show off Aarhus to the rest of the badminton world.

- It’s so cool that the tournament is being held in my hometown. I’m so excited to show the foreign badminton stars around the city and put Aarhus on the map, says the women’s singles player. >>

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Line Kjærsfeldt, like Anders Antonsen, feels that there is something really special about competing in such a large tournament in the city where it all began, and expresses that it would be amazing if the Danish women’s national team finds success on the home court.

- Of course, success is always nice and fun. But I think it would be something really special for me on my home court in Aarhus, she believes.

But the home-court advantage isn’t exclusively a positive, according to Kjærsfeldt. On Danish soil the media awareness amongst Danes is much higher than when playing abroad.

- I feel like the pressure on us is so big. Both because us athletes want to deliver and perform at a higher level. But also, because we generally receive more attention playing in Denmark, compared to playing in Asia, for example, says Line Kjærsfeldt.

On the other hand, the Aarhus native hopes that the women’s national team, which is the eighth seed in the tournament, can take advantage of their underdog role.

- We’re coming in as underdogs, which means we’re bringing everything we’ve got to the court, and hopefully create a good surprise, she states.