Tokyo: In a thrilling men’s singles quarter-final match at the 2023 Japan Open, Denmark’s World No. 1, Viktor Axelsen, secured a hard-fought victory against India’s World No. 10 H. S. Prannoy, in a match that lasted 76 minutes, as Axelsen prevailing with a 19-21, 21-18, 21-8.
The victory saw Axelsen extend the head-to-head record against Prannoy to 7 wins and 2 losses and he is on course for a shot at his third BWF world tour title in 2023, after winning the Malaysia Open, and Indonesia Open. He will face Japan’s Kodai Naraoka next.
Highlights of Viktor Axelsen vs. HS Prannoy in the 2023 Japan Open quarter-finals:
Naraoka put up a spirited performance, “grinding” his way past China’s World No. 4 Shi Yuqi with an 11-21, 21-19, 21-14 victory, marking his third consecutive semi-final advancement.
Following a recent wedding and sharing his joy on social media, World No. 9 Jonathan Christie from Indonesia has been enjoying a successful run at the Japan Open by securing a spot in the semi-finals. Christie triumphed over Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the World No. 3, with a score of 21-16, 21-16, making it his fourth victory in seven encounters against Vitidsarn. Christie will take on Lakshya Sen of India on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the men’s doubles quarter-final saw Malaysia’s Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik were knocked out of the tournament by Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi of Japan, losing 21-10, 15-21, 16-21.
Hoki/Kobayashi will meet Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi in the semi-final.
In the women’s singles category, Japan’s top-ranked player Akane Yamaguchi faced a setback, losing to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 11-21, 21-11, 18-21 in the top 8 match. This marked Yamaguchi’s fourth defeat in 15 matches against Tunjung. The defeat saw Yamaguchi unable to defend the women’s singles title at her home court after winning the tournament in 2019 and 2022.
Korea’s women’s singles World No. 2 An Se Young defeated Thailand’s former world champion Ratchanok Intanon in straight sets 21-19, 21-10. An has impressively reached the top 4 in all 11 BWF World Tour tournaments this year. She will now face Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-finals. Tai, ranked No. 4 in the world, also secured a spot in the semi-finals after defeating China’s Han Yue 21-12, 21-19.
