Malaysia Open : Viktor Axelsen, Akane Yamaguchi win singles titles; Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong bags mixed doubles crown

Kuala Lumpur : Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen on Sunday retained his Malaysia Open Super 1000 men’s singles title while the reigning world champion Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi clinched the women’s singles trophy.

It was Axelsen’s record ninth consecutive final in the BWF Super 1000 tournaments and eighth in the top-tier level series. The Dane defended his title by beating Naraoka Kodai of Japan in straight sets, 21-6, 21-15 in the final here at Axiata Arena.

Carrying her scintillating form from 2022, Yamaguchi outplayed number two seed An Se Young of Korea 12-21, 21-19, 21-11 for the women’s singles title in the opening World Tour event of 2023.

In the mixed doubles, world number one and Olympic silver medallist pair Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong got better of Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan 21-19, 21-11 in 44 minutes.

Women’s doubles duo Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan trounced South Korea’s Baek Hana and Lee Yulim 21-16, 21-10 in 52 minutes to seal the victory.

The new world number one in men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia beat the Chinese combination of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang 21-18, 18-21, 21-13 in the final.