Champions crowned at Paris 2024 Olympic Games
YONEX All England Open champions asserted their dominance in badminton on the Olympic stage in Paris.
In the men’s singles, Danish world number two Viktor Axelsen successfully defended his Olympic gold medal from Tokyo, as he defeated Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-11, 21-11.
After defeating his opponent convincingly, the 2020 and 2022 YONEX All England Open champion was in disbelief at repeating his Olympic victory.
He said: “I’m so, so happy right now. Winning one gold medal is a dream come true. When I won in Tokyo I didn’t even dare to dream I could win another time.
“But now I’m standing with my second Olympic gold. This is crazy. What a life.”
BACK TO BACK 🏆🏆 @viktoraxelsen@badmintonphoto pic.twitter.com/krR0dsm5qL
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) August 5, 2024
Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia, champion in 2021, secured a bronze medal in Paris, after defeating India’s Lakshya Sen in three games.
The championship’s 2023 winner of the women’s singles An Se Young came out victorious in today’s gold medal match, becoming South Korea’s first Olympic women’s singles champion since 1996 by beating He Bingjiao.
The 22-year-old said: “I always try to dream big, I always try to have confidence that I can achieve that dream.
“I think that’s why I have been able to achieve a lot of things at such a young age.”
He, who lost the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, was defeated in straight games 21-13, 21-16.
Many were expecting 2024 All England Open champion Carolina Marín to be in contention for gold, however, a knee injury forced her out of the competition in the semi-final, as He went through by default.
A big congrats to the WS medalists 🤩🥇🥈🥉#Paris2024
📸 @badmintonphoto pic.twitter.com/Gt9952sZJe
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) August 5, 2024
He paid a heartfelt tribute to the Spaniard on the podium, holding up a Spanish pin badge as she received her medal.
In the women’s doubles contest, 2019 All England champions Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan bagged the gold medal, beating compatriots Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 22-20, 21-15 in the final.
After settling for a silver medal in Tokyo, the Chinese first seed defied the odds to secure the top spot on the podium, with Jia only recently recovering from pneumonia.
Congrats to the women’s doubles medalists 🥇🥈🥉🤩#Paris2024@badmintonphoto pic.twitter.com/Islex5ZdY0
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) August 4, 2024
The mixed doubles saw All England Open 2023 and 2024 champions Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China come out victorious, upgrading their silver in Tokyo for gold in Paris.
The pair saw off South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun 21-8, 21-11 in under an hour.
Huang’s partner, men’s singles player Liu Yuchen, made it even more of a day to remember for the victor, as he got down on one knee, adding an engagement ring to the day’s already glittering gold medal.
2021 and 2022 champions Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino bagged third place, as they beat South Korea’s Chae Yu-jung and Seo Seung-jae 21-13 22-20.
It was the second consecutive bronze medal for the Japanese pair, as they matched their performance from Tokyo three years ago.
