TOKYO (AFP) – Danish badminton ace Viktor Axelsen says he can “be a better player” after winning his second world title on Sunday (August 28), but China I dismissed the comparison with the great Lin Dan.
Reigning Olympic champion Axelsen added another title to his 2017 world title with a 21-5 21-16 victory over Thailand’s Khunrabhut Vitisarung in Tokyo, cementing his position at the top of the sport.
The 28-year-old hasn’t lost a single match at this week’s World Championships and believes he has “a long road” to improve.
“I want to get as good as I can,” said the world No. 1, who has lost just one singles match this year.
“I try to take each day as it comes, and try to get better and better every day, but I still feel like I can be a better player.
Axelsen will try to emulate Lynn by winning back-to-back Olympic titles when the 2024 Olympic Games are held in Paris.
Lynn won two Olympic gold medals and five world titles during his illustrious career, but Axelsen refused to be compared to what he believed to be the greatest badminton player ever.
“For me, Lin Dan is the best player ever. He is the GOAT,” Axelsen said.
“I’m just trying to focus on myself and do the best I can, and I’m really proud of where I am.”
21-year-old Bittizahn, who has qualified for her first world championship final, said Axelsen is “not like everyone else.”
“He’s very strong and very fast,” said three-time junior world champion Vitidsarn.
“Other players take 2-3 steps, but Viktor takes 1-2 steps.”
In the women’s singles, Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi defeated China’s Chen Yufei 21-12, 10-21, 21-14 to retain her title in front of her home crowd.
Top-seeded Yamaguchi didn’t drop a single game into the final, but had to dig deep to beat Olympic champion Chen after a change of momentum in the second game.
Yamaguchi, 25, said, “Having fans in the arena and cheering me on really gave me strength.”
“Maybe that’s why I’ve been so positive throughout the tournament.”
Chen had set her sights on becoming the first player from badminton powerhouse China to win the women’s singles world title since 2011.
China has won a total of 15 women’s singles world titles, five times more than any other country, but fourth-seeded Chen is the country’s first women’s world championship finalist since 2014. was a person
The 24-year-old said she was “trying to ignore” the pressure to end the drought, but admitted it “had some impact”.
“I couldn’t mentally handle it, so I need to work on it,” she said.
In the men’s doubles, Indonesian pair Mohammad Afsan and Hendra Setiawan’s dominant run as world champions ended in a 21-19, 21-14 defeat to Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Saw Oui Ik. .
Ahsan and Setiawan were chasing a fourth consecutive win, but Chia and Soh’s wins made Malaysia the first-ever badminton world champions.
In the women’s doubles, No. 1-seeded China’s Chen Qingcheng and Jia Yifang paired off South Korea’s Kim So-young and Gong Hee-young 22-20, 21-14.
In the mixed doubles, China’s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong beat Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino 21-13, 21-16.
