Badminton World Tour Finals: Viktor Axelsen hails his ‘extraordinary’ year after denying China’s Shi Yuqi
- ‘A great sportsman gets up and recovers from disappointing experiences. And that’s what I managed to do,’ the world No 1 says
- Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan voices surprise at beating Carolina Marin to the women’s singles crown, saying her ‘preparation and performance here were not optimal’
Viktor Axelsen reflected on what he called an “extraordinary” year after he wrote his name into the history books at the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.
The Dane swept his Chinese counterpart Shi Yuqi in straight games in the final on Sunday, making him the first player ever to land five men’s singles titles at the year-end tournament, having previously shared the best tally with the now retired Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei.
Axelsen had been on the losing end of a group-phase match against Shi last Wednesday, but it was a different story on the final day of the tournament at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Centre.
The Olympic champion dominated from start to finish in a one-sided final that he won 21-11, 21-12, bringing the contest to an end to seal his third straight title in just 49 minutes.
“I’m extremely proud and tired,” world No 1 Axelsen, who speaks fluent Mandarin, said. “I can’t believe that I won, this means a lot to me.