Axelsen claims India Open men's singles title

New Delhi, April 2 (PTI): Viktor Axelsen of Denmark steamrolled Chinese Taipei's Tien Chen Chou in straight games to emerge men's singles champion at the India Open Super Series badminton tournament, here today. Third seed Axelsen crushed Chou 21-13 21-10 in just 36 minutes to claim his maiden India Open title at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. Coming into the match, the Dane was regarded an outright favourite and he was the superior of the two shuttlers on the court as he controlled the proceedings from the word go. All throughout the match, the Chinese Taipei shuttler was struggling to match his opponent's superior game and court coverage. Axelsen adopted an aggressive approach all throughout the match and barring lapse in concentration at the start of the opening game, the Dane produced a blemish-less display on the court. After pocketing the first game 21-13, Axelsen made a slow start in the second game. Chou made a promising start in the second game to race to a 5-0 lead but just when it seemed Axelsen was taking it lightly he came back into his fore soon and pocketed a few straight points to take a 11-6 lead at the break. From there on there was no stopping the Danish shuttler as he gave very little breathing space to his opponent to pocket the game 21-10 and seal the affair in his favour.