‘Tired’ Viktor Axelsen celebrates first badminton title since September

KUMAMOTO – Badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen won his first title since September on Nov 19 in Japan, but said he was “not feeling great” heading into the season’s final stretch.

The dominant Dane, who is set to celebrate two unbroken years atop the world rankings on Dec 1, beat China’s Shi Yuqi 22-20, 21-17 to capture the inaugural Japan Masters title.

Axelsen said he was determined to celebrate his first success on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour since the China Open and was putting the Nov 21-26 China Masters to the back of his mind for the moment.

“Going into the China Masters, I’m not feeling great. I’m very tired, I don’t want to think about it,” he told the BWF.

“I have a rule that when you play a final and you’re done, you have to enjoy it, so I’m not thinking about next week at all.”

Axelsen said he would “enjoy an extra piece” of sushi after beating fourth seed Shi.

The Dane was also appearing in his first final since the China Open and the 29-year-old said he was happy with his performance in a match “played at a really high level”.

“Shi is a very strong opponent and I think if he had managed to win the first game, it could have gone either way today,” he said.

“I was really happy with how composed I stayed, especially at the end of both games.”

Indonesia’s Gregoria Tunjung beat China’s Chen Yufei 21-12, 21-12 in the women’s final.

The win gave the sixth seed her second title on the tour, following her triumph at the Spain Masters in April.

Third seed Chen, the Tokyo Olympic champion, had ended South Korean top seed An Se-young’s 31-match unbeaten streak in the semi-finals.

But Tunjung said she “just tried my best to win every single point”.

“The key to the win today was my patience,” said the 24-year-old, ranked No. 7 in the world.

“Chen Yufei also made a few mistakes and that helped me believe in myself more and believe that I could counter anything she threw at me.”

The three doubles finals were all contested by Chinese players.

In the men’s doubles, He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu got the better of seventh seeds Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi 21-14, 15-21, 21-15.

Third seeds Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu beat Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 12-21, 21-12, 21-17 to claim the women’s doubles title.

And top mixed doubles seeds Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong beat No. 3 pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping 25-23, 21-9.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s top mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jessica Tan ended their 15-month title drought by capturing the lower-tier Irish Open title in Dublin on Nov 18.

The 26th-ranked pair beat another married couple, English world No. 36 Gregory and Jenny Mairs 21-17, 18-21, 21-15 in the final for their first title since the Commonwealth Games gold in August 2022.

Along with singles players Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min, they will next compete at the China Masters in Shenzhen. AFP