Hangzhou: Viktor Axelsen, along with Malaysia’s men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, faced a challenging start at the 2023 BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.
In his opening match, world No. 1 men’s singles player Viktor Axelsen fought for 51 minutes but succumbed to a 19-21, 19-21 defeat against China’s world No. 7 Shi Yuqi. Despite the setback, Axelsen still has an opportunity to advance to the knockout stage by defeating Kodai Naraoka of Japan and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in subsequent Group A matches.
As for Chia/Soh, the world No. 3 men’s doubles pair faced disappointment when they conceded to the former world champions from Japan, Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi. After losing the first set 16-21, they made a comeback by winning the second set 21-14, but errors in the decisive third set led to an 18-21 defeat.
Rexy Mainaky, the Director of Coaching at the Academy of Badminton Malaysia (ABM), acknowledged the pair’s performance, noting that while they played well in the second set, errors and a loss of rhythm contributed to their defeat in the third set. Mainaky encouraged them to focus on the upcoming matches and quickly move past the setback.
Chia/Soh, who have faced consecutive defeats against Japanese opponents, must win their remaining group stage matches against two Chinese pairs, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang and Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi, to qualify for the semi-finals.
In another Group A match, Liang/Wang suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Liu/Ou, with a scoreline of 18-21, 21-16, 16-21. According to the competition format, only the top two pairs from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
