Paris: The day of March 7th, 2024 for the YONEX French Open 2024 presented an exciting day full of victories and many surprises.
First, to get started on the doubles side of things, the World No. 5 Malaysian men’s doubles pair ofAaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik continued their strong showing at this tournament by edging out World No. 24 Lee Fang-Chih/Lee Fang-Jen of Taiwan in straight sets by scores of 21-16, 21-18.
Highlights of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik vs. Lee Fang-Chih/Lee Fang-Jen in the second round of the 2024 French Open:
And now, Chia/Soh are set to face the reigning world champions Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae of Korea in the quarter-finals, which will undoubtedly be a match that many are keen on watching.
However, on the flip side, Malaysian mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei were defeated by Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping in the second round, a bit more of a sorrowing blow to the Malaysian badminton team, but perhaps Chia/Soh can bring home some better news.
But right now, the elephant in the room with the French Open has been the men’s singles bracket, with the most jarring event being the shocking defeat of World No.1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark. The world champion and Olympic champion fell in straight sets to World No. 27 Wang Tzu Wei of Taiwan, with the final score being 21-12, 21-17. And although Axelsen is known for his aggressive playstyle and exploitation of his physical talent, two reasons that helped propel him to the spot of World No.1, Wang managed to poke every hole he could in Axelsen’s defense and dealt a shocking defeat to the Dane. And now with Axelsen’s defeat, the championship title which was previously in his favor is now up for grabs, with fans worldwide eagerly anticipating who will step up to claim the title and become the next French Open champion.
After the match, Axelsen was definitely not the most pleased at his performance, acknowledging his shortcomings and admitting he didn’t play up to standard. However, he assured the world and stood firm on the fact that the reason wasn’t due to his fitness level, a fact that many have been concerned about considering he has just entered his 30’s. Instead, he has found new determination in wake of his loss and is confident he won’t see any more poor performances anytime soon.
And as for Wang Tzu Wei, he will be playing Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand next.
However, that’s not all that took place in the men’s singles bracket, with another one being the victory of Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew over Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia 21-16, 18-21, 21-16. This game was especially interesting because although Ginting is an unbelievably quick player, Loh put on a masterclass with his footwork and sensational net play, ultimately contributing to his impressive victory. Now, Loh is set to take on Lakshya Sen of India on Friday.
And finally to take a look at the women’s singles competition, we see that the results have definitely been less jarring than the men’s, with the “big four” and top seeds of of An Se Young of South Korea, Chen Yufei of China, Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, and Tai Tzu-Ying of Taiwan all advancing to the quarterfinals. However, this doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been exciting matches, especially with the exciting clash between PV Sindhu of India and Zhang Beiwen of the USA, with Sindhu eventually prevailing in three sets 13-21, 21-10, 21-14.
Hopefully, these next few matches within the French Open are just as if not more exciting for all of us badminton fans out there who are looking for a great experience.