Indonesia Open: Viktor Axelsen, Tai Tzu Ying win singles titles

Jakarta (Indonesia), June 19 (IANS): Viktor Axelsen from Denmark and Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei won the respective men’s and women’s singles titles at the Indonesia Open tournament, here on Sunday.

Axelsen, who also won the Indonesia Open in the last edition, successfully defended his title after beating China’s Zhao Jun Peng 21-9, 21-10 in the men’s singles final.

The Olympic champion, who reached his eighth consecutive Super 1000 final, dispatched his unseeded opponent in just 38 minutes to claim his second straight tournament in Jakarta following his success at the Indonesian Masters one week ago.

Axelsen, who overcame Malaysia’s star Lee Zii Jia in a thrilling semifinal on Saturday, will overtake India’s Lakshya Sen to top the men’s singles World Tour rankings from Monday.

On the other hand, Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei saw off Asian champion Wang Zhi Yi of China to win her third women’s singles crown at the tournament (after titles in 2016 and 2018).

The Tokyo 2020 silver medallist narrowly lost the first game (21-23) but immediately reacted by taking the second period 21-6. Tai took control of the decider and saw off Wang 21-15 to clinch her second consecutive title in the BWF World Tour after the Thailand Open.

Earlier in the day, China’s Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong got the mixed doubles title after seeing off Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa of Japan in two games (21-14, 21-16).

Meanwhile, Matsuyama Nami and Shida Chiharu of Japan retained their Indonesia Open women’s double crown after coming back from one game down against compatriots Fukushima Yuki and Hirota Sayaka.

In the men’s doubles final, Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi capped off an impressive campaign after being promoted from the reserves list as they defeated Korea’s Choi and Kim in two games.