PETALING JAYA: Denmark signalled their intent in the Thomas Cup Finals from April 27-May 5 by naming a full strength team.
The Danish team, who have been drawn along with Malaysia, Hong Kong and Algeria in Group D, will parade the likes of world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen, world No. 4 Anders Antonsen (pic) in the singles and world No. 4 doubles pair Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
The foursome will be ably complemented by singles players Rasmus Gemke (No. 28), Magnus Johannesen (No. 35) and doubles pairs Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard (No. 17) and Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard (No. 36).
The Danes are seeded second behind 10-time winners China and look more than capable of going on a strong run in the prestigious team meet.
Denmark’s best achievement in the tournament was capturing the title in the 2016 edition in Kunshan, China.
Then, they defeated Malaysia 3-2 in the semi-finals before upstaging Indonesia 3-2 in the final.
Reigning Olympic Games champion Axelsen, Astrup and Rasmussen were part of that victorious team and their experience could prove invaluable in Chengdu.
The 26-year-old Antonsen is also no newbie as he has been part of the team in the past three editions in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
He also enjoyed some of his best form in the beginning of the year when he captured the Malaysian Open and Indonesian Masters titles in January.
Although, Antonsen has not managed to continue his great run when he lost in the quarter-finals and second round of the French Open and All-England respectively last month, he remain a dangerous opponent on his day.
In 2022, Antonsen and his teammates made it into the semi-finals before narrowly going down 2-3 to eventual winners India.
This time, with Malaysia’s top two singles players, Lee Zii Jia (No. 11) and Ng Tze Yong’s (No. 18) participation still uncertain and Hong Kong not having strong doubles pairs, Denmark look the favourites to finish top of the group and make it into the last eight on a high.
Only the top two teams in the group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
