Tokyo: Reigning Olympic champion and world No. 1, Viktor Axelsen, once again demonstrated his remarkable skills on the badminton court, securing a spot in the men’s singles final of the Japan Open. The Danish ace delivered a dominant performance, overpowering the host player, Kodai Naraoka, who holds the fourth spot in the world rankings, with an impressive 21-11, 21-11 scoreline in the semi-finals.
Watch the highlights of Viktor Axelsen vs. Kodai Naraoka in the 2023 Japan Open semi-finals here:
Awaiting Axelsen in the final is Indonesia’s world No. 9, Jonatan Christie, as they gear up for an epic showdown. Axelsen has already claimed victory in the Malaysia Open and Indonesia Open earlier this season, and now he sets his sights on adding the prestigious Japan Open crown to his collection. Notably, he also emerged triumphant in the men’s singles event at the European Games, held from June 26 to July 2, 2023, in Arena Jaskółka, Tarnów, Poland.
With the Japan Open final just around the corner, the determined 29-year-old world No. 1 is hungry to secure his second Japan Open title on Sunday, adding to his previous victory in 2017.
While the host nation, Japan, hoped for a fourth consecutive men’s singles championship at home, those dreams were dashed with Naraoka’s elimination from the competition. In the past three editions of the tournament, Kento Momota claimed the title twice in 2018 and 2019, and Kento Nishimoto won it in 2022. However, due to the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 events were canceled.
In the men’s doubles event, history is set to be made, regardless of the outcome.
In the thrilling men’s doubles semi-finals, Japan’s 2021 World Champions, Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, put on a convincing display, overpowering China’s formidable “new twin towers,” world No. 7 Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi, with an authoritative 21-10, 21-15 victory. Their opponents in the final will be the Tokyo Olympic champions from Chinese Taipei, Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin.
Since the inception of the Japan Open in 1972, neither host nation Japan nor Chinese Taipei has clinched the men’s doubles title. This makes the upcoming final between Hoki/Kobayashi and Lee/Wang a historic moment in the annals of men’s doubles history at the Japan Open.
The two pairs have previously clashed four times, including their recent encounter at the 2023 Malaysia Open, where Hoki/Kobayashi emerged victorious in straight sets. However, Lee/Wang hold the advantage in their head-to-head record with three wins out of four encounters, setting the stage for a thrilling men’s doubles final showdown.
In the earlier men’s doubles semi-final, Lee/Wang delivered an impressive performance, dominating Indonesia’s world No. 1 pair, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, with a one-sided 21-19, 21-10 scoreline, securing their spot in the championship match.
Korea’s An Se Young who set to rise to world No. 1 position next week, will play He Bing Jiao of China in the women’s singles final and Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan of China will face-off against Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong of Korea for the women’s doubles title.
The mixed doubles final saw Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino to have a chance to become the first Japanese mixed doubles pair to win the Japan Open when they take on defending champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in the final.
