Viktor Axelsen breezes into record fifth India Open final
Reigning world and Olympic champion Axelsen defeated Jonatan Christie to end Indonesian interest in the men's singles, as top women's seeds Yamaguchi Akane and An Se Young reached the women's final.
Badminton
Viktor Axelsen remains the man to beat in badminton after cruising through to the final of the India Open on Saturday (21 January).
Denmark's reigning world and Olympic champion was at his clinical best against fourth seed Jonatan Christie, winning 21-6, 21-12.
Fresh from winning last week's Malaysia Open, Axelsen has made serene progress in New Delhi with the exception of a testing second-round match against Shi Yuqi of People's Republic of China.
He dominated from the start against Christie, racing into an 11-4 lead at the first break which he quickly converted.
The Indonesian put up greater resistance in the second game, showing incredible defence at times to lengthen the rallies, but it was merely delaying the inevitable as the world number one wrapped up proceedings in just 38 minutes.
Axelsen is through to his fifth India Open final, more than any other singles or doubles player, and needs one more win to seal his fourth consecutive BWF Tour title.
He will meet Kunlavut Vitidsarn on Sunday in a repeat of last year's World Championship final.
Vitidsarn defeated Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Anthony Ginting 27-25, 21-15 on a disappointing day for Indonesia.
Having saved six game points, Ginting fluffed a routine service return to hand first blood to the three-time world junior champion.
And the 21-year-old Thai roared back from 13-8 down in game two, taking the last eight points in succession to complete victory.
Yamaguchi and An set up rematch in women's final
For the second week running, Yamaguchi Akane and An Se Young will contest a BWF Tour after coming through their semi-finals on Saturday.
Last Sunday's Malaysia Open winner Yamaguchi got the better of unseeded Supanida Katethong 21-17, 21-16 to reach her first final in India.
She led 11-7 at the interval in the first game, but the Thai left-hander reduced the gap to one before the top seed went clear to take it.
It was a similar story in game two with Katethong never quite able to gain parity on the scoreboard as Japan's two-time reigning world champion again found more in the closing stages.
Second seed An had to come from behind to beat He Bingjiao 11-21, 21-16, 21-16.
He was inspired in the first game, but her opponent from the Republic of Korea improved in the second to force a decider.
The Chinese looked like she would come out on top when she took an 11-7 advantage into the interval, but An won seven of the next eight points to go in front.
With both players showing signs of fatigue, it was He who started to make errors as An earned her first win over the left-hander in five meetings.
India Open 2023 singles semi-finals results
Women's
1-Yamaguchi Akane (JPN) def. Supanida Katethong (THA) 21-17, 21-16.
2-An Se Young (KOR) def. 4-He Bingjiao (CHN) 11-21, 21-16, 21-16.
Men's
8-Kunlavut Vitidsarn (THA) def. 6-Anthony Ginting (INA) 27-25, 21-15.
1-Viktor Axelsen (DEN) def. 4-Jonatan Christie (INA) 21-6, 21-12.