Viktor Axelsen cruises to first Hong Kong Open triumph
Double Olympic champion Axelsen eased past Lei Lan Xi to claim his second tour title of the year after Han Yue won the women's singles final.
Badminton
Two-time Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen dismantled People's Republic of China's Lei Lan Xi to take the 2024 BWF Hong Kong Open on Sunday (15 September).
Axelsen won 21-9, 21-12 to secure a second tour title of the year after his victory in May's Malaysia Masters. In his first tournament since retaining his Olympic title at Paris 2024, he became the first Dane to win the Hong Kong Open men's singles title since Peter Gade back in 1997.
This was the first time the two players had met with Axelsen winning all his previous matches this week in straight games. Lei, by contrast, needed three games in each encounter.
In just his second BWF World Tour final and seeking his first title, Lei won the first two points thanks to a couple of errors from Axelsen. But playing with the drift, the double Olympic champion quickly found his touch and dominated the net to take the next 10 points without reply before leading 11-3 at the mid-game interval.
The left-hander was more competitive on the restart, but Axelsen stayed clear and thrilled the crowd with a pirouetting backhand smash - the signature shot of Lee Zii Jia - as he took the first game 21-9 in just 18 minutes.
Axelsen's shot selection was immaculate with Lei unable to settle into any kind of rhythm. The Chinese showed glimpses of class to go 4-2 up at the start of the second game. However, his lead quickly evaporated with the 30-year-old winning five consecutive points to go into the break 11-7 in front.
Lei's previous exertions were clearly catching up with him as Axelsen made it nine points in a row after the resumption. The Chinese fought back, but was only delaying the inevitable with Axelsen completing victory in 43 minutes.
Two titles for China as Tan and Muralitharan make history in women's doubles
Han Yue ended the dream run of Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani in the women's singles final. The third seed from China took just 35 minutes to win 21-18, 21-7 and secure her first title since last October's Arctic Open.
After defeats in two consecutive finals in recent weeks, world men's doubles champions Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae returned to the top of the podium to claim their second title of 2024. The Koreans defeated Indonesia's Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlievi Isfahani 21-13, 21-17 to add to their India Open victory back in January.
In the all-Chinese mixed doubles final, Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin beat top seeds Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping in two high-quality games for a fourth title of the year.
In the first final of the day, Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah became the first Malaysian winners of the women's doubles title in Hong Kon as they defeated Olympic silver medallist Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China.
Results from the finals of the BWF Hong Kong Open on 15 September 2024:
Women's doubles: [3] Pearly Tan/Muralitharan Thinaah (MAS) def. [2] Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning (CHN) 21-14, 21-14
Men's doubles: [3] Kang Min-hyuk/Seo Seung-jae (KOR) def. Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh Reza Pahlievi Isfahani (INA) 21-13, 21-17
Women's singles: [3] Han Yue (CHN) def. Putri Kusuma Wardani (INA) 21-18, 21-7
Mixed doubles: [2] Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin (CHN) def. [1] Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping (CHN) 21-17, 21-19
Men's singles: [2] Viktor Axelsen (DEN) def. Lei Lan Xi (CHN) 21-9, 21-12