Home favourite Gemke knocks world No.1 Vitidsarn out of the Denmark Open
Rasmus Gemke came from a game down to beat the top seed in Odense, on an opening two days that also saw early exits for PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and India's Satwik and Chirag.
Denmark's Rasmus Gemke produced the biggest upset of the opening round of the Denmark Open on Tuesday, beating top seed and world No.1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 13-21, 21-17, 21-12 in front of a home crowd in Odense.
Gemke, 29, is ranked 27th in the world. He lost the first game comfortably and, according to Badminton Europe, was still trailing midway through the second before turning the match around.
A repeat of July
The win was not a one-off. BWF noted that Gemke had also beaten Vitidsarn in three games at the China Open in July. Vitidsarn arrived in Odense as the recent Asian Games champion and one of the favourites for the men's singles title.
"Fantastic feeling winning against the world No.1 on home soil in front of these spectators," Gemke told the BWF afterwards. His second-round opponent was to be the winner of the match between Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long Angus and Japan's Yushi Tanaka.
Early exits for Indian stars
Germany's Yvonne Li, the world No.45, beat two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu 13-21, 25-23, 21-19 in 65 minutes on Tuesday. The BWF reported that Li had been promoted from the reserve list late on Monday and drove about three hours from Hamburg to Odense on the morning of the match. On the same day, Lakshya Sen lost 18-21, 21-13, 15-21 to Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.
On Wednesday, fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the world No.5 men's doubles pair, were beaten 21-12, 15-21, 19-21 by China's He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, who are ranked 37th. The Bridge noted it was the Indian pair's second consecutive first-round exit against much lower-ranked opponents.
Background and significance
The Denmark Open, staged for the 75th time, is one of the BWF World Tour's Super 750 events, with total prize money of US$950,000. According to BWF statistics, Indonesia's Jonatan Christie and South Korea's An Se Young are the reigning singles champions, with An top seed again in the women's singles.
Analysis: with the world No.1 gone in the first round, the men's singles draw has opened up, which could benefit Danish hopes including Anders Antonsen, who arrives after winning the Arctic Open on Sunday.
What happens next
The tournament runs until the finals on Sunday 18 October in Odense, which is UTC+2, six hours behind Singapore.
Sources
BWF World Tour (official), "Denmark Open: Gemke Knocks Out Vitidsarn", 14 October 2026: https://bwfworldtour.bwfbadminton.com/news-single/2026/10/14/denmark-open-gemke-knocks-out-vitidsarn
Badminton Europe, "Gemke stuns world number one on home soil at Denmark Open", 13 October 2026: https://badmintoneurope.com/w/gemke-stuns-world-number-one-on-home-soil-at-denmark-open
BWF World Tour (official), "Denmark Open: Straight Off the Road, Li Rocks Pusarla", 14 October 2026: https://bwfworldtour.bwfbadminton.com/news-single/2026/10/14/denmark-open-straight-off-the-road-li-rocks-pusarla
The Sunday Guardian, "Denmark Open Badminton 2026 Results: PV Sindhu Crashes Out as Lakshya Sen Falls", 13 October 2026: https://sundayguardianlive.com/sports/denmark-open-badminton-2026-results-pv-sindhu-crashes-out-as-lakshya-sen-falls-kidambi-srikanth-tanvi-sharma-advance-305014/
The Bridge, "Denmark Open 2026: Satwik-Chirag face their second successive first-round exit", 14 October 2026: https://thebridge.in/badminton/denmark-open-satwik-chirag-first-round-exit-58026
BWF World Tour (official), "Smashing Stats: Denmark Open 2026", 13 October 2026: https://bwfworldtour.bwfbadminton.com/news-single/2026/10/13/smashing-stats-denmark-open-2026/