Axelsens Ankle Issue

Jayce September 6, 2024 2 0

On the day of the semifinals at the KFF Singapore Badminton Open, many top players and pairs performed excellently. However, Viktor Axelsen was not among them as he made the difficult decision to withdraw.

Fans were looking forward to seeing the in-form Viktor Axelsen advance to the semifinals today after his victory at the Malaysia Masters last week. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

Like all players this week, Axelsen had to adapt to the challenging conditions on the court and played two closely contested three-set matches against Lakshya Sen and Lin Chun-Yi.

During his match against Lin Shou-Hao, the Danish player frequently checked his right ankle and even briefly requested medical attention.

Before the semifinal against China’s Li Shi-Feng, Axelsen wrote a letter to his fans. Li Shi-Feng had previously eliminated Singapore’s Lu Jianyu, marking their first encounter.

“In the second round, I slightly twisted my right ankle. Initially, it felt okay, and there was just a bit of soreness yesterday. However, this morning, the pain worsened, and after consulting the medical team, the doctor advised me to rest my ankle, so I cannot play today. This is obviously very disappointing as I was eager to continue playing here. Apologies to all the badminton fans in Singapore, and thank you for your support! See you next year.”

The world No. 1 player added that he will do his best to participate in the Indonesia Open next week!

They Are Back

Former world No. 1, and All England Open champions in March, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto returned to the finals after a few months’ absence. The Indonesian pair faced the champions Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen from Denmark at last week’s Malaysia Open.

Alfian/Ardianto took an early lead, but the Danish pair managed to switch sides and push the match to a deciding game. The Indonesian pair managed the game well, predicting that Astrup/Rasmussen might be running out of energy after their recent matches, eventually winning with scores of 21-11, 16-21, 21-12.

Exciting Final Lineup

The final day’s schedule is eagerly anticipated as top stars plan to set benchmarks before the upcoming Paris Olympics.

In the women’s singles, the top seed An Se-Young will challenge Chen Yufei for the first time this year.

The women’s doubles pair Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan are favorites to win and will face the in-form Japanese duo Matsuyama Nami/Shida Chiharu. They have played twice this year, both times going to a deciding game!

Shi Yuchi will compete against Li Shifeng for the men’s singles title, while China’s He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu will aim to defeat Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto. In mixed doubles, Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong will aim to perform at their best.