Lucky number 11 for Line Hojmark

Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt
30/06/2022 03:33 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- World number 29 women’s singles shuttler, Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt has finally broken the jinx against Spanish star, Carolina Marin.

As Line had always been on the losing end in the previous 10 meetings against the three-time world champion, the 2022 Malaysia Open proved to be a memorable outing for the Dane.

Line survived a gruelling 74-minute three-set  battle, winning in 21-19, 19-21, 21-13, to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament in the second round today.

The 28-year-old, who was truly over the moon by her sweet victory over the former Olympic champion, described her achievement today as one of the biggest in her career so far.

The Aarhus-born shuttler said she was pleased to see that her strategy to capitalise on Marin’s flaws eventually panned out well for her.

“I know that she (Carolina) just came back from a serious injury and not even in her Olympic gold best shape right now but that was my chance and finally I took it,” she told reporters after the match at the Axiata Arena here.

Marin, who was the first European woman to win an Olympic gold in badminton at the 2016 Rio Games, had to forgo defending her gold medal after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on the left knee about a month before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Marin suffered a similar injury to her right knee during the 2019 Indonesia Masters final, and she took eight months to recover, winning six Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour titles since then.

Not only making a statement after ‘slaying’ Marin, Line said having successfully turned Thailand ace, Ratchanok Intanon, as her victim in the second round of the Indonesia Open recently, had fired her up to climb even higher in the world rankings.

In the meantime, the two-time European Championships bronze medallist admitted that the women’s singles challenge is getting more difficult following the rise of so many quality shuttlers lately.

However, she said despite all that, her victory against two world’s best players this year had cemented her status as the ‘one to watch out for’ in many years to come.

Line will clash against reigning Asian champion, Wang Zhi Yi after the Chinese shuttler defeated Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, 21-19, 21-13, for a place in the semis, tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA