Badminton world No 1 Viktor Axelsen crashes out of Hong Kong Open in first round shock
- Olympic champion beaten in straight games by Lee Chai-Hao of Taiwan 21-16, 21-10
- Defending champion Lee Cheuk-yiu advances to second round, but Hong Kong teammate Angus Ng goes out
World No 1 Viktor Axelsen crashed out of the Victor Hong Kong Open in a shock first round defeat, while there were mixed fortunes for the city’s top players on Wednesday.
Having won last week’s China Open, the top seeded Dane could not get past qualifier Lee Chai-Hao of Taiwan, and fell in straight games 21-16, 21-10 at Hong Kong Coliseum.
But the Olympic champion had no complaints about his surprising loss, admitting he just “lost to a better player today”.
“I played the final in the China Open over the weekend and perhaps it’s a little tough coming here and turning to a new place for preparing everything as I used a lot of energy,” Axelsen said. “But all credit to my opponent today as he was way better than me and deserved to win.”
Before Lee Chai-Hao had stunned the 4,000-strong crowd with his win, the home supporters were able to cheer on local favourite and defending champion Lee Cheuk-yiu in his relatively simple 21-13, 21-15 win over China’s Weng Yongyang.
“It’s so nice returning to the Coliseum where I enjoyed the great support of the fans,” Lee, who won in 2019, said. “I put the result from four years ago behind as it was too long ago and will focus on what I can do this time.”
