On January 19th, Beijing time, the final day of the 2025 India Open Badminton Championships, the men's singles final took center stage with Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen facing off against Hong Kong's rising star, Lee Cheuk Yiu. In the end, Axelsen dominated with a 21-8 score in one set, winning both sets 2-0 to defeat Lee and secure his title, avenging his surprising first-round loss to Lee at last week's Malaysia Open!
During his prime, Axelsen was indeed unstoppable. However, as he has aged, his technical abilities have declined, giving rise to several "dragon slayers," with Lee being the foremost among them. At the previous Malaysia Open, Lee caused an upset by eliminating Axelsen in the first round.
At this India Open, Lee continued his excellent form, consecutively defeating Kento Momota, Brice Leverdez, Chou Tien Chen, and Wang Tzu Wei to reach the finals. In the semi-finals, after losing the first set, Lee fought back to win two consecutive sets and reverse the match against China's top player, Wang Tzu Wei, leaving a deep impression with his powerful smashes.
In this match, Lee initially suppressed Axelsen's backhand overhead, exploiting his slow turning speed, achieving good results. However, as the game progressed, Axelsen also became aware of this, transitioning from defense to offense, gradually reversing the situation, overtaking the score, and maintaining his lead to win the first set 21-16.
In the second set, Axelsen completely controlled the game, with Lee falling further behind in points and gradually losing his fighting spirit. Axelsen won the set 21-8 in a strong comeback, sweeping both sets with a total score of 2-0 to defeat Lee and claim the championship, becoming a three-time champion at the India Open, tying with Lee Chong Wei for first place in the tournament's history.
In the other four events: An Se Young defeated Lee Ye Na 21-12, 21-9 to easily win the women's singles title; Wu Shifeng/Izzuddin Jauhar overcame Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae 21-15, 13-21, 21-16 to claim the men's doubles title; Ayumi Mine/Sayaka Yamamoto defeated Kim Hye Jung/Kong Hee Yong 21-15, 21-13 in two sets to win the women's doubles title; Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin defeated Gicquel/Delrue 21-18, 21-17 to claim the mixed doubles title.
The five associations of China, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, and Malaysia split the five titles, with the mixed doubles pair of Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin securing the only championship point for the national badminton team on the final day.