Kuala Lumpur: While World No. 3 men’s singles player Anders Antonsen of Denmark became the first Danish player to win the Denmark Open title since Jan Ø. Jørgensen’s victory 10 years ago, he also succeeded in getting fans talking about him on social media about his shorts pulling ritual after he eventually defeated teammate Rasmus Gemke 18-21, 21-19, 21-12 in the final on Oct 18th.
However, fans also noticed that the gesture was strikingly similar to the Portuguese football superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, as he occasionally tends to pull up his shorts and shows his thighs during free-kick.
Speaking to the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Antonsen told the badminton fans he actually wasn’t aware that Cristiano Ronaldo did that before the free-kick.
“I didn’t know Cristiano was doing that before his free-kick, perhaps he also would like to show his legs,” said Antonsen jokingly.
When asked about how did he come up with such an entertaining gesture to celebrate that momentous day, he said it was just a spontaneous move he came up with as soon as he clinched the Denmark Open title.
“I don’t know about the celebration, I didn’t really think too much about it,” said Antonsen.
“I was focusing totally on winning that title, I didn’t really think about the celebration,” added Antonsen.
“It was a tough match, I was probably trying to pay tribute to my legs. Thanks to my legs, I guess,” explained Antonsen.
(video: BWF)
