Anders Antonsen celebrated the biggest result in his comeback from injury, as the Dane made the YONEX All England semifinals for the third time.

The Dane, whose last major semifinal was the DAIHATSU YONEX Japan Open in September 2022, was a picture of steadiness, in contrast to his opponent Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who was by turns brilliant and erratic.

It was an emotional comeback for the Dane, who has battled months of chronic pain due to a persistent groin injury.

“It was emotional in the end,” said Antonsen. “I could sense tears in my coaches’ eyes. It was big for all of us. I’m not easy to work with. So it’s amazing. I’m so happy to experience this.

“It means a lot. To be back playing well, beating very strong opponents in all three rounds, I’m so satisfied. I’ve been through quite a lot, with injuries and tough times, and so to finally experience something like this is big for me.

“I’ve always been quite confident in my own abilities. But I have also doubted myself more than I’ve ever done before, for the last year or so. With a bunch of lesser results and injuries and stuff I started to doubt myself a little bit. But I’ve proven that I am still able to play with the absolute best.”

Highlights

• The match of the day was Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong’s 19-21 20-22 24-22 victory over Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan, a roller-coaster ride that saw the Chinese save six match points before succumbing in the 93^rd minute.
• The children of two former All England champions made the semifinals. Kim Won Ho, son of Gil Young Ah, and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, daughter of Pullela Gopichand, made the last four in mixed doubles and women’s doubles respectively.
• Another thrilling match saw two-time champions Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan pull off an unlikely comeback against HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 champions Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi after trailing 8-14 in the third game.

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“It’s a special moment for me. The start of the year was tough for me and I finally got through for the first quarterfinals and I did it again through the semifinals. I’m quite happy and excited, but only for today. I have to start all over again.” – Lee Zii Jia

“It’s obviously not easy to play a teammate, because we know each other’s style. With other opponents, it’s easier to take advantage of weaknesses, but your teammate can anticipate your attack.” – Shi Yu Qi, after beating compatriot Weng Hong Yang

“I’m so pleased we played such a match. This is one of the best wins of our career. It’s hard to pick one as the very best, but I’d say this was among the top five.” – Kim So Yeong, after a thrilling semifinal win over Chen/Jia.

“It was a pretty smooth victory today. Emotionally I feel normal, and I hope I can make less mistakes in the semifinal.” – Tai Tzu Ying

→ Results (Day 4)

→ Order of play (Day 5)