Denmark's Anders Antonsen clinched the title at the inaugural King Cup International Badminton Open 2024.
Sports
Denmark's Anders Antonsen (World No. 2) won the title at the inaugural King Cup International Badminton Open 2024, defeating China's Hu Zhe'an in a thrilling 2-1 victory (21-18, 11-21, 18-21) in the final match held in Shenzhen, China.
- Anders Antonsen took home a prize of 1.1 million Renminbi (RMB), while Hu Zhe'an, the runner-up, received 500,000 RMB.
- India's top badminton player, Lakshya Sen (World No. 12), secured 3rd place in the tournament after defeating Alex Lanier from France. He received a prize of around 36 lakhs.
- Anders Antonsen is a 3-time World Championships medalist, winning silver in 2019 and 2021, and bronze in 2023.
Main Point :- (i) The King Cup International Badminton Open 2024, initiated by two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan (China), is a special non-ranking event registered with the Badminton World Federation (BWF), featuring only men's singles matches with participation from 8 players.
(ii) Lakshya Sen, a former World Junior No. 1 badminton player, won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Birmingham, UK, and also claimed a gold at the 2018 Asia Junior Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.
(iii) He reached the men's singles semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, becoming the first Indian ever to reach the semi-finals at the Summer Olympic Games.
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