Denmark enjoys strong day at Badminton World Championships in New Delhi

Denmark enjoyed another impressive day at the Badminton World Championships in New Delhi, with both of its men’s singles players advancing to the second round.

After Anders Antonsen battled through a challenging opening-round victory over an opponent from Azerbaijan on Monday, fellow Dane Rasmus Gemke produced a much more convincing performance on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old from Aarhus cruised past Belgium’s Julien Carraggi, winning 21-11, 21-10 to book his place in the second round.

Having previously played alongside Carraggi at the same club in Hvidovre, Gemke appeared to benefit from his familiarity with his opponent’s game.

The Danish shuttler controlled the match from the early stages and outplayed Carraggi in almost every department. After the opening game was level at 2-2, Gemke gradually established his authority and pulled clear.

Carraggi, ranked 48th in the world, struggled to respond to Gemke’s dominance, with the Dane comfortably controlling the pace of the contest. Gemke currently sits 26th in the world rankings.

However, Gemke will face a significantly tougher challenge in the next round when he takes on 12th seed Lin Chun-yi of Taiwan.

Denmark also celebrated success in the mixed doubles, with Kristoffer Kolding and Mette Werge securing their place in the second round.

The Danish duo defeated their Swedish opponents 21-19, 21-16 and will now face the fifth-seeded French pairing of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue.

Later in the day, Denmark’s leading men’s doubles pair, Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard, also made a winning start to their campaign.

The 13th seeds received a first-round bye before overcoming a Brazilian pair 21-14, 21-11 in the second round.

They now face a Chinese pairing in the third round, with another difficult test awaiting the Danish duo.

With several Danish pairs already making progress, Denmark has made an encouraging start to the World Championships in New Delhi.