Viktor Axelsen of Denmark won the men’s singles competition at the 2022 BWF World Championships on Sunday by defeating Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-5, 21-16.

Axelsen now possesses the last three Super 1000 titles in addition to the Olympic, World, and BWF World Tour Finals trophies thanks to his victory. In Glasgow in 2017, he additionally won the global championship.

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The world’s best player beat Vitidsarn as was predicted, and he did so, but he had to raise his game in the subsequent game. After being completely outclassed in the first game, the 21-year-old Vitidsarn shown more restraint in the second, varying his shots and keeping Axelsen on edge.

The moment, however, was short-lived as a result of some incredible defensive plays by Axelsen, which left Vitidsarn shaking his head in bewilderment. The veteran eventually won the race after the momentum quickly reversed back.

“I’m really happy about how I managed to control and deal with everything in there. Obviously, I was also the favourite and there was a lot of pressure on me. But I managed to perform under this pressure, and I’m really proud of myself,” said Axelsen.

“I came out really strongly. I controlled the court really well. I controlled the drift really well. It was slower today than yesterday on the side I started on and I think that came as a surprise to both of us. But yeah, I stepped up really well and Kunlavut came on really strong in the second game with a good game plan. But I turned the table around a little bit after the 11-point interval,” he added.

For the women’s singles championship, however, top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan upset Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China. Yamaguchi prevailed in the game in one hour and eight minutes, 20-12, 10-21, and 21-14.

Since 2020, Chen had lost against Yamaguchi four times in a row. In their 22 encounters, the Japanese shuttler has defeated Chen 14 times.

Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China defeated Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan 21-13, 21-16 to win their third mixed doubles world championship.

In the women’s doubles competition at the world championships, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan won their third gold medal after defeating Kim Soyeong and Kong Heeyong of South Korea 22-20, 21-14.

In the men’s doubles, Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik prevailed by defeating Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan 21-19, 21-14.

(Inputs from IANS)