Oops! I Did It Again: Denmark Badminton Federation Mistakenly Announced The Wrong Country Twice

By Quinny Tan  •  25 Oct 2022 in News

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Over the weekend, badminton fans all over rejoiced as our national shuttler Lee Zii Jia bagged a spot in the Men’s Single event at the Denmark Open 2022.

But he wasn’t the only one who caught the attention of Malaysians.

A video has been circulating around our timelines during the ceremony of the Denmark Open 2022 on the men’s doubles podium.

Rasanya masih marah melihat momen ini. Bisa2nya, penyelenggara melakukan kesalahan sangat fatal di turnamen tour dunia dengan level yg tinggi.

Kesalahannya nggak cuma satu. Tp dua sekaligus. Sangat2 nggak profesional.pic.twitter.com/UYs5EKWgCV

— A. Ainur Rohman (@ainurohman) October 23, 2022

As two Indonesian men’s doubles badminton pairs were preparing to climb onto the podium as the respective winners and runners up of the tournament on Sunday, the announcers pulled a Steve Harvey and said that they were from Malaysia.

Runner ups Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo seemed stunned and puzzled during the announcement.

And the announcer hadn’t yet realised that she made the mistake and followed up by announcing that the champions, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, also represented Malaysia.

After the incident, Denmark’s badminton federation, Badminton Denmark, apologized on Twitter.

“We are truly sorry for the announcement mistake. Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Ardianto and Marcus Gideon/Kevin Sukamuljo are of course from INDONESIA! We know that. It was a human mistake, and we hope you can accept our apology.”

Dear all,
We are truly sorry for the announcement mistake. Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Ardianto and Marcus Gideon/Kevin Sukamuljo are of course from INDONESIA! 🇮🇩 We know that. It was a human mistake, and we hope you can accept our apology.

— Badminton Danmark (@BadDK) October 23, 2022

Most Indonesian fans were annoyed by the mishap, including Indonesian Badminton Association Foreign Relations Officer Rudy Rudyanto, who poured out his frustrations on Twitter saying that “The Danish Federation must learn more.”

At the tournament, Fajar and Muhammad claimed a straight-set, 21-19, 28-26, victory over Marcus and Kevin. The event also marked Fajar and Muhammad’s first win at a Super 750 event.

We can only hope that such a mistake doesn’t happen again. Congratulations to all players and their respective countries!