Badminton fans are being treated to a thrilling second day of matches at the KAPAL API GROUP Indonesia Open 2023, filled with high-stakes encounters in the fight to advance to the second round.
Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour faced off against USA's Beiwen Zhang. With a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head record, the Scot dominated the match in straight games with a commanding win, 21-16 21-11.
Gilmour's next challenge will be none other than the world number two, An Se Young. The Korean player recently claimed the Singapore Open title, stunning Akane Yamaguchi in a remarkable final. An and Gilmour’s previous meeting took place at last year's edition of this same tournament, where the Korean player emerged victorious in straight games. Gilmour will be determined to reverse the outcome this time.
Meanwhile, Frenchman Toma Junior Popov secured a convincing victory against Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-Yi, 21-18 21-15. In the upcoming round, he is set to face one of the home favourites, sixth-seeded Jonathan Christie, promising an exciting yet challenging match for Popov.
The tournament bid farewell to one of the European stars, Anders Antonsen, on this eventful day. However, Antonsen left a lasting impression by putting up a fierce fight. His opponent, Japan's Kodai Naraoka, whom he defeated in the Singapore Open semifinals just a few days ago, sought redemption.
The match unfolded in an intense three-game thriller, with Antonsen initially taking the lead by clinching the first game. Yet, Naraoka mounted a comeback to claim victory, 14-21, 21-7, 21-17.
“I tried to get the crowd involved and pump some energy through them and that worked quite well, it was a fun experience,” Antonsen said to BWF about returning to the legendary Istora Senayan today.
The matches are not done yet. You can check all results
here.