Bangkok: After winning the 2020 All England Championships in March of 2020, Denmark’s men’s singles No. 4 seed Viktor Axelsen was electric after a long rest as he beat No. 7 seed Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong 21-14, 21-14 in the final of YONEX Thailand Open on Sunday.
“Having not played for so long, I knew I had to be 110 percent going into the final. I’m really happy that I managed to win,” said Axelsen.
“This is the first tournament of 2021, and I didn’t expect to make it to the final,” added Axelsen.
He also added a post on his Facebook after the match with the following message:
“So happy to come out as winner this week at Yonex Thailand Open! Thank you so much for all your messages and support during this week. 🙏 It has been amazing to be back on court. Also congrats to Ng Ka Long on a good week! Time to rest and enjoy the win. Thanks guys and talk soon! Viggo “.
In women’s singles, the Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain picked up a one-sided win to beat World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan in a relatively easy match with 21-9, 21-6.
Tai was clearly struggling against Marin in the final, as this was Tai’s first international tournament after she last competed at the 2020 All England Championships.
After the match, the Taiwanese player admitted that she was not feeling well physically, and couldn’t catch up with Marin’s fast pace and aggressive playing style.
“I didn’t feel well enough to put in my best efforts, I tried my best,” she said on Facebook after the match.
In the women’s doubles final, Indonesia’s Apriyani Rahayu/Greysia Polii outlasted Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai 21-15, 21-12 to win the title. The victory also made Greysia Polii the women’s doubles player who had won the most ever Thailand Open title with a total of four titles and with two different partners.
She won the 2013 Thailand Open with Nitya Krishinda Maheswari, 2017, 2018, and the 2021 edition with Apriyani Rahayu.
