Danish shuttler Anders Antonsen sacks coach for placing bets during tournaments

World No. 3 men’s singles badminton player Anders Antonsen of Denmark terminated the contract of his personal coach, Joachim Persson, with immediate effect after the latter allegedly placed bets on matches involving other players during BWF tournaments.

In an Instagram post by Antonsen shared on Saturday, the Danish shuttler wrote:

“Dear all, I'm terminating my coaching agreement with Joachim with immediate effect… The other day I by coincidence got to see my coach placing bets on one match taking place in the arena.”

“As a coach of one player competing in the BWF, this is a violation. As a player competing in the BWF you're obligated to report such behavior as soon as it comes to your knowledge. Failing not to report such information would be a violation [of] the BWF code of conduct. I want to distance myself from this behavior and therefore the only option has been to report and terminate our agreement,” the statement added.

Like most professional sporting tours, the BWF also has strict guidelines regarding betting, with one clause reading:

“No paid / unpaid staff of the BWF / Continental Confederations is allowed to directly / indirectly bet or attempt to be on badminton.”

The ‘integrity code’, as the BWF calls it, was made stricter in 2016, and failure to comply can result in a range of punishments, including lifetime bans.

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What next for Anders Antonsen?

In the Instagram post, Anders Antonsen shared that the sacking of Persson, who had been his only personal coach since the former went independent, has been a tough one.

With a packed BWF schedule coming up, Antonsen will need to move fast to secure a good coaching staff to ensure that he can bring his A-game in his matches.

27-year-old Anders Antonsen will be next seen in the BWF 500 Korea Open 2024, which will start on August 27.

The Danish shuttler, who holds a career-high rank of No. 2, has had poor form in recent tournaments. He lost out in the Paris 2024 Olympics quarter-final against Malaysia’s Lee Zi Jia, who would win the bronze medal by defeating India’s Lakshya Sen.

Anders Antonsen also had a poor showing in the Japan Open 2024, where he retired midway into the opening-round match against India’s Sathish Kumar Karunakaran. Karunakaran was leading 6-1 when Antonsen decided to leave the match.