“We deserve a medal,” said Kim Astrup, on going through to the men’s doubles quarterfinals from the Group of Death.

Group D was by far the toughest in the competition, with Olympic champions Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin, World Championships runners-up Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi, world No.9 Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi and Pan Am champions Vinson Chiu/Joshua Yuan.

The two spots from the group were still undecided when Astrup/Rasmussen took on Hoki/Kobayashi while an adjacent court hosted Lee/Wang against Liu/Ou. The Chinese Taipei pair needed at least a game to ensure their quarterfinals place, while Astrup/Rasmussen needed a win to assure themselves of their place.

Both possibilities came to pass, with Lee/Wang not only taking a game, but keeping their all-win record with a narrow 17-21 21-17 24-22 result over Liu/Ou, while Astrup/Rasmussen prevented their match from going to a third by saving two game points and closing it out 21-19 22-20.

Having overcome a loss to Lee/Wang earlier in the competition, Astrup and Rasmussen were delighted with their come-from-behind effort to make the quarterfinals out of the difficult group.

“Obviously it means a whole lot, it almost deserves a medal to go through from our group,” said Astrup. “I seriously mean that, because we have been world class for two matches in a row and right now two other world class pairs are fighting for the last spot. It means a lot.

“We knew when we travelled here that it would be tough, and we could end up losing a match or two, but luckily it was just the one.”

Wang admitted they’d felt the nerves at the beginning of their match, knowing they needed to win at least a game.

“Today’s match was really important. The first game I was very nervous and I played really bad. I feel more confident going into the quarterfinals. The first game I made a lot of mistakes on serve, but in the second I thought there was no other way back, so I just kept fighting, and I’m happy to get the win.

“The crowd kept cheering for us. To win all the matches makes us confident, and I appreciate my partner; we just kept fighting together.”

→ Results