BADMINTON/Chou Tien-chen falls short in final of Indonesian Open

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton ace Chou Tien-chen (周天成) fell in the finals of the US$1.45 million Indonesian Open on Sunday to third-seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark in straight games after a first game collapse.

Chou, who on Saturday became the oldest player ever to reach a men's singles finals at a BWF Super 1000 event at the age of 35 years and 150 days, fell to the Dane 22-20, 21-14 in a one-hour match in which Antonsen's quickness and defensive skills carried the day.

The Taiwanese veteran seemed to retain the momentum he had after topping the new world no. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in Saturday's semifinals, maintaining a narrow but steady lead for most of the first game and giving himself three match points at 20-17.

But Antonsen, who later talked about how much he wanted victory, would not relent, and scored five consecutive points to give himself the lead in the match.

The second game remained tight much of the way, though Antonsen gained a small edge midway through when a bad call by the referee took a critical point away from Chou, leaving the Taiwanese clearly frustrated.

As the second half of the game unfolded, Chou increasingly struggled to find gaps in Antonsen's defense and failed to match his opponent's quickness near the net, which become more obvious late in the game.

Holding a 15-13 lead, the Dane ran off five straight points to give himself six match points, and he converted the second one to take the title.

A day earlier, after defeating Kunlavut, Chou was unwilling to accept that he was compromised by his age.

"I just think I'm younger than my opponents. You need to change your mind and be humble and stable," he said on the Badminton World Federation website.

Still, the 28-year-old Antonsen, who had physical issues during the week, seemed fresher at the end and took home the men's singles title.

Chou, who won the men's singles title at the Indonesia Open in 2019 by beating Antonsen, was the only Taiwanese player to make it to the quarterfinals of any of the five events being contested in Jakarta.

(By Luke Sabatier) enditem/h