Koljonen shocks Gemke to reach semis at European Badminton Championships
Friday, 30 April 2021
World number 80 Kalle Koljonen stunned third seed Rasmus Gemke in straight games to secure his place in the semi-finals of the European Badminton Championships in Ukrainian capital Kiev.
The 27-year-old Finnish player defeated French seventh seed Toma Junior Popov in the previous round and backed up that victory with a 21-15 21-19 win over Denmark’s world number 12 Gemke.
Koljonen will next face Danish top seed and defending champion Viktor Axelsen who has yet to drop a game as he defeated French eighth seed Thomas Rouxel 21-14 21-15 in the quarter-finals.