The Victor China Open 2023 has been set underway on September 5 in Changzhou, China.
Astrup and Rasmussen are still riding the momentum from their remarkable performance at the 2023 TotalEnergies BWF World Championships as they secure another sensational victory, defeating the top-seeded Indonesian duo, Alfian and Ardianto, with an impressive score of 19-21, 19-21.
Christo Popov had a tough day at the office. In the men's singles draw, he faced the Singaporean, Loh Kean Yew, and fell short with a score of 16-21, 14-21. Later in the men's doubles, partnering with his brother Toma Junior Popov, they faced Chinese pair Liu/Ou and were defeated 21-16 21-14.
On the brighter side, Anders Antonsen advanced to the second round with a hard-fought victory over India's Lakshya, with a scoreline of 23-21, 16-21, 21-9. He is set to face the seventh seed, Loh Kean Yew from Singapore, in the upcoming match.
In women's doubles, the Danish duo Fruergaard/Thygesen delivered a commanding performance, defeating Taiwan's Lee/Teng with a score of 21-15, 21-18.
As for our top-seeded European players, world number one Viktor Axelsen made a triumphant return to the winning track by defeating Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo with scores of 21-17, 21-18. Spain's Carolina Marin also secured an impressive win, dominating Wen Chi Hsu of Taiwan with a score of 21-12, 21-12.
Here are the European results from day one:
• Zheng/ Huang (CHN) vs Lamsfuss/ Lohau (GER): 21-15 21-16
• Loh Kean Yew (SGP) vs Christo Popov (FRA): 21-14 21-17
• Seo/ Chae (KOR) vs Christiansen/ Bøje (DEN): 21-14 24-22
• Puavaranukroh/ Taerattanachai (THA) vs Mairs/ Mairs (ENG): 21-14 21-8
• Tan/ Thinaah (MYS) vs Jille/ Seinen (NLD): 17-21, 21-17, 21-10
• Dunn/ Hall (SCO) vs Koga/ Saito (JPN): 13-21 17-21
• Brian Yang (CAN) vs Misha Zilberman (ISR): 21-8, 14-21, 21-8
• An Se Young (KOR) vs Mia Blichfeldt (DEN): 21-16 21-12
• Fukushima/ Hirota (JPN) vs Efler/ Lohau (GER): 21-6 21-8
• Lamsfuss/ Seidel (GER) vs Lee/ Lee (TWN): 21-18, 13-21, 16-21
• Matsumoto/ Nagahara (JPN) vs Stoeva/ Stoeva (BGR): 21-10 21-13
• Matsuyama/ Shida (JPN) vs Lambert/ Tran (FRA): 21-15, 22-24, 21-18
Stay tuned for more R32 matches tomorrow featuring European athletes as they continue to compete at the China Open 2023.