BWF Denmark Open 2024: Jonatan Christie stunned by Lu Guangzu, Viktor Axelsen retires in second round
The Indonesian shuttler was defeated in three sets while top seed Axelsen had to retire after falling ill in Odense on Thursday, 17 October.
Badminton
Badminton world number two Viktor Axelsen and world number three Jonatan Christie both exited the BWF Denmark Open 2024 in the second round on Thursday (17 October).
Christie was defeated by Lu Guangzu of the People's Republic of China in an hour-long three-set men's singles encounter, which his Chinese opponent seized after a tight final set that went 21-18 in Lu's favour.
The number four seed from Indonesia had to come from behind after narrowly losing the opening set 19-21, working his way back into the match with a dominant display in the second set conceding just eight points (21-8).
Though Christie kept the scoreline tight in the decider of a match where he had to hustle to find a way through, Lu was finding the gaps and exploiting them time after time, including crucially at 18-18, when he won three straight points to take the win.
Lu will meet Watanabe Koki in the quarter-final on Friday (18 October), after the Japanese swept past Kunlavut Vitidsarn in straight sets.
Home favourite Axelsen saw his tournament come to a disappointing end in the second round, having to retire at 19-21, 7-11 down against Frenchman Alex Lanier.
After Lanier edged out a thrilling opening set in an eagerly anticipated matchup, Axelsen became ill and began vomiting at the side of the court.
The top seed tried to play on and claw his way back into the match, but he was too unwell to continue and retired to a standing ovation from the Danish crowd.
There was a successful outing for Loh Kean Yew though, who came from behind to beat Lee Cheuk Yiu 9-21, 21-16 21-14 to reach the quarter-finals. All of the seeded players are now out of the competition going into the final eight.
Beginning with the quarter-finals on Friday, the Super 750 tournament will be available to stream live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app (territorial restrictions may apply). Ranking points earned in Odense could be crucial in deciding the end-of-season rankings and the Race to Finals 2024 positions.