Birmingham: Danish badminton world no.1 Viktor Axelsen began the quest for his third All England title with a convincing straight-sets victory over India’s Kidambi Srikanth in the opening round on Tuesday.
Highlights of Viktor Axelsen vs. Kidambi Srikanth in the first round of the 2024 All England:
Axelsen, the reigning Olympic and world champion, displayed exceptional form throughout the match, leaving his opponent with little room for maneuver. The first set was one-sided as Axelsen eventually edged out Kidambi 21-9. He carried this momentum into the second set, dominating play and sealing the win comfortably at 21-9.
Speaking after the match, Axelsen expressed his satisfaction with his performance and acknowledged the challenge posed by Kidambi. “Srikanth is a very skilled player, but I’m happy with the way I played today. I’m looking forward to the next round.”
Axelsen now sets his sights on Chinese rising star Weng Hongyang, who defeated Taiwan’s Lin Chun-Yi in his opening match.
However, last year’s All England champion, Li Shifeng, performed extremely poorly, unable to withstand the attacks from Toma Junior Popov and committing frequent errors, ultimately losing the first-round match 17-21, 13-21.
In men’s doubles, after winning the first game 21-15 against Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi of China, Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi couldn’t finish their job when leading at 20-17 in the second game. At a crucial moment, Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi displayed great resilience, making a series of comebacks and miraculously reversed the second game with a score of 23-21.
Liu/Ou narrowly secured the deciding game with a score of 21-14, completing a 2-1 incredible comeback victory over their opponents and advancing to the round of 16, awaiting the winners between Vinson Chiu/Joshua Yuan of the USA or Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan of Taiwan.
Another Malaysian men’s pair, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, defeated compatriots Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin 21-19, 21-17, to play Chang Ko-Chi/Po Li-Wei of Taiwan in the second round.
Malaysia also has two mixed pairs advancing to the second round. Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing will play no. 8 seeds Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong next, while Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai will likely face last week’s French Open champions Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping next.
In an all-Malaysian women’s doubles first-round match, Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan got the better of Vivian Hoo/Lim Chiew Sien 21-10, 21-10, and are awaiting a potential clash with world no. 1 Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan of China on Thursday.
