The exciting first day of the Denmark Open is drawing to a close, with spectators witnessing thrilling, top-quality badminton. Many European players were in action, and several have advanced to Thursday's second round.

The French mixed doubles team of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue were on the verge of elimination after losing the first set and trailing 19-14, then 20-17 in the second. Their spectacular comeback, fueled by a mindset of having nothing to lose, was exactly what they needed to turn things around. You can watch their full interview on Badminton Europe's YouTube channel.

Mia Blichfeldt also secured a much-needed win—her first victory since the Olympic Games and her first under coach Popov. Both Alex Lanier and Viktor Axelsen won their respective opening matches in straight sets and will face each other on Thursday for the first time since 2022.

Alexandra Bøje and Robin Tabeling, playing their first tournament as a new partnership, claimed a solid victory over Germany’s Jones Ralfy Jansen and Thuc Phuong Nguyen, winning 21-11, 21-14. Another relatively new pair, Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund, delivered an impressive performance by defeating the strong Thai duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran, 21-19, 13-21, 21-12. In the next round, they will face Spain's Ruben Garcia and Lucia Rodriguez.

In addition to these results, several other European players have secured spots in the second round, which will take place on Thursday.

Wednesday’s schedule is packed, with more European stars taking the court. Germany’s Yvonne Li faces 2017 champion Ratchanok Intanon, while Christo Popov will challenge the in-form and seventh-seeded Li Shi Feng. His brother, Toma Junior Popov, has a tough first-round draw against world number 3 Anders Antonsen. The Popov brothers also face a challenge in doubles, as they take on world number 2 pair Anders Skaarup and Kim Astrup.

Additionally, the energetic English duo Ben Lane and Sean Vendy will meet tough opposition when they play Malaysia's Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi.

We look forward to more world-class badminton and hope to see even more European players advancing in the tournament.