Indonesia Open 2023: Axelsen cruises into second round on return to competition
After being sidelined with a muscle strain, Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen makes a successful return to competition by reaching round two in Jakarta.
Badminton
Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen has made a successful return to competition on Tuesday (13 June) by reaching the second round at the Indonesia Open 2023.
After being sidelined for almost four weeks, the Danish star shuttler beat Hong Yang Weng (People's Republic of China) 21-12, 21-8. Axelsen will face world number 28 Tzu Wei Wang of Chinese Taipei next.
The world number one had picked up the injury in his quarter-final match against Lee Zii Jia at the Sudirman Cup 2023.
World number eight Tien Chen Chou (Chinese Taipei) and world number nine HS Prannoy also progressed to the last 16. Chou defeated Christo Popov of France 15-21, 22-20, 21-1 to set up a meeting with Canadian Brian Yang. India's Prannoy claimed a straight-game win over Japan’s Nishimoto Kenta and is now up against Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, China.
In women’s singles, Carolina Marin easily moved on. The 2016 Olympic champion ousted Malaysia's Jin Wei Goh 21-11, 21-11 to set up an encounter with Jia Min Yeo (Singapore).
PV Sindhu (India) reached the second round by defeating local hero Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-19, 21-15. Next up for the two-time Olympic medallist: Third-seeded Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei .
The Indonesia Open is a Super 1000 event on the 2023 BWF World Tour, with players able to earn ranking points which count towards Paris 2024 qualification. The tournament concludes on Sunday 18 June.