ANTONSEN Anders

General
NEXT BIG THING
He gained widespread media attention in Denmark after winning the 2016 Scottish Open. He gave several interviews on Danish television afterwards where he declared that he was the next big Danish men's single player, and described other Danish men's players as boring and predictable. Speaking in 2020, he said the media attention left its mark on him and he is more careful about choosing his words. "I think more about what I say now [2020], I did not then. But I'm happy with who I am. I think I have humour and something to offer, so my plan is to be myself as much as possible. If people think I'm a smug idiot, so be it. I do not bother to think about it. In some places I just have to be a little more tactical. I have no reason to speak out politically and risk losing my sponsorships." He is still confident in his ability to become one of the top men's singles players. "My physique [in 2020] is far from where it should be. In this way, I feel like a rough diamond. But when it comes to tactical and technical badminton skills, I do not feel that anyone in the world can match me. If I can get the physique right, at world-class level, then I believe that I will be the next dominant player in the world." (aarhuspanorama.dk, 08 Jan 2020)

MIGRAINE STRUGGLES
He has suffered from migraines since 2012, which affected him significantly in 2018. "It has been tough dealing with the migraines. I was struggling a lot with migraines after tough practice sessions. It was way too often that I got migraine attacks for six to seven hours, throwing up and puking. If I got it on Monday, then I couldn't train on Tuesday and Wednesday. I would start playing a little on Thursday. It just took me out many times when I had the chance to build my game and physique. My mother struggled with migraines, I probably got it from her. She helped guide me, but the experience of an elite athlete I needed to figure out for myself. It has been a good thing in some ways because it has forced me to develop. I was forced to look at all the little things off the court, making sure I get enough sleep, making sure I eat the right things, and that I take care of my scheduling and planning. Now [2020] I have an overview of my week, so I can see what I need to do and not let things pile up." (aarhuspanorama.dk, 08 Jan 2020; Badminton Denmark, 07 Oct 2019; indianexpress.com, 29 Jan 2019; firstpost.com, 13 Jan 2019)

FRIEND AND RIVAL
He says that training with compatriot Viktor Axelsen has driven him to be a better player. "I see Viktor as a really important piece in my development, actually, because we practise together almost every day. He's a phenomenal badminton player and he has some great, great skills. It is always a little bit weird, we're both at the top of the world and we both have the same goals so sometimes we are rivals. But at the same time we are also from the same nation and we practise together and try to help each other to get even better. It's a difficult balance, I think we do a really good job of mastering it." (olympicchannel.com, 09 Oct 2020)

QUITTING SCHOOL
He quit high school in order to focus on a badminton career. "[One day] I left and walked down to the club where my father was, and I told him that I'm not going back to school for one more day. That is not the life I want to live and that is not the dream I'm chasing. I was sitting up there thinking, 'This is just not going to happen, I want to be able to train a lot more, and I do not want to sit here [in class], because I am 1000 per cent sure I will succeed as badminton player'." (aarhuspanorama.dk, 08 Jan 2020)