KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 3 Anders Antonsen has dismissed his coach, Joachim Persson, after catching him allegedly placing a bet on a badminton match.
The 27-year-old Danish star had hired Persson, a former world No. 6, as his personal coach after leaving the national team to turn professional in 2022.
Under Persson, Antonsen staged a remarkable comeback from an injury-plagued 2022, climbing from a lowly No. 30 in January, 2023, to his current top three position. During this period, he secured four titles in six finals over 20 months.
Despite these achievements, Antonsen didn't hesitate to sever ties with Persson to maintain the sport's integrity.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Antonsen detailed the incident and his subsequent actions:
"I'm terminating my coaching agreement with Joachim with immediate effect. I've been trying to work out a way of communicating this message which isn't easy," Antonsen wrote.
"Joachim and I have been a successful player/coach constellation and therefore this decision would raise eyebrows and questions. To avoid unnecessary speculation and media digging for answers, I wish to tell the story as it is right away.
"The other day 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 (sanctioned tournaments), this is a violation. As a player competing in the BWF, you're obligated to report such behaviour as soon as it comes to your knowledge. Failing not to report such information would be a violation on the BWF code of conduct."
Antonsen also revealed that he had fulfilled his obligation by reporting the matter to the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
This incident could spell further trouble for Persson, who has a history of involvement in a match-fixing scandal.
In 2019, the BWF imposed an 18-month ban on him for failing to disclose details of an approach and not cooperating fully with their investigations.
Emphasising the gravity of the situation, Antonsen stated that this single incident was sufficient grounds for his decision.
He quickly clarified that he was unaware of how long Persson might have been involved in such activities and stressed that the match Persson bet on did not involve Antonsen himself.
"Joachim has been my only coach since I went independent. He has been a huge part of my comeback story. We have travelled the world together. We have fought crazy battles on the court together," Antonsen reflected.
"We did amazing and accomplished multiple tournament wins together. I'll always be grateful for the time we've spent. So, obviously I'm absolutely gutted and sick to my stomach that this is the way our ways end."
He concluded: "I would like to clarify that I don't know anything about the duration of this behaviour. I know about one single incident of placing bets on a random match - but that for me is enough. Also the match didn't include myself!
Antonsen will now be scrambling to find a replacement for Persson to quickly put his training set up back on the right track.
"I'm now left in a very complicated situation. Without coach and heading in to a very busy travel schedule with tournaments and practice camps coming up. I'll do my best to solve the puzzle and move on as fast as I can."
As the badminton world processes this unexpected development, all eyes will be on Antonsen to see how he navigates this sudden change in his support structure while maintaining his top performance on the court.
For Malaysian fans, Persson is best remembered for inflicting a heartbreaking semi-final defeat at the 2006 Thomas Cup in Japan. In that crucial match, Persson defeated Kuan Beng Hong in the decisive third singles, securing a 3-2 win for Denmark and propelling his team into the final.