Axelsen completes BWF World Tour Finals hat-trick in Hangzhou
Viktor Axelsen completed a brilliant BWF World Tour Finals hat-trick by roaring to his third consecutive title in Hangzhou.
The world No.1 reigned supreme in both Bali and Bangkok over the last two years and soared to yet more success against home Chinese favourite Shi Yu Qi on Sunday.
The Dane and Tokyo Olympic champion, 29, swatted aside Shi 21-11 21-12 after toppling compatriot Anders Antonsen in Saturday’s semi-final.
Shi, the current world No.7, had beaten Indonesian ace Jonatan Christie in his last four clash but was unable to clinch a surprise triumph in the final as Axelsen once again proved too hot to handle.
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying grabbed women’s singles glory with a dramatic comeback three-game triumph against Carolina Marin.
The world No.4 won the event in Bangkok three years ago and returned to the summit of the podium with a 12-21 21-14 21-18 win over the Spaniard on Sunday.
Marin, ranked just one place below her opponent in the world, waltzed to the first game in style but Tai showed all her powers of resilience to turn the tables in Zhejiang.
Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae stunned Chinese world No.1s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang with an impressive triumph in the men’s doubles final.
The Korean duo breezed to victory in just 43 minutes with a confident 21-17 22-20 victory.
And in the women’s doubles, reigning world champions and world No. 1 pairing Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan sent the home crowd into raptures with an emphatic win against Koreans Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee.
The Chinese pairing required just over an hour to dash their underdog opponents’ hopes with a fluent 21-16 21-16 victory to successfully defend their 2022 title.
And there was a similar story for the hosts and reigning champions in the mixed doubles event, where world No.1s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong beat compatriots Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping to grab their second successive BWF World Tour Finals trophy.
Zheng and Huang triumphed 21-11 21-18 in the penultimate clash of the day to further outline their superiority as the planet’s stand-out mixed doubles pairing.
