Denmark's Viktor Axelsen hits a return during the men's singles final against Japan's Kento Momota in the 2022 Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur, July 3, 2022. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)
No surprises at the World Badminton Championships, as top-seeded Viktor Axelsen and reigning champion Akane Yamaguchi advance to the third round.
TOKYO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Top-seeded Viktor Axelsen cruised into the third round of the men's singles at the World Badminton Championships on Tuesday, while reigning champion Akane Yamaguchi won her first match to start her title defense on home court.
Denmark's Axelsen scored five straight points to take the first set 21-19 when trailing 19-16, and won the second set 21-10 to eliminate Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands.
Axelsen has lost only one match on tour this season, and the Tokyo Olympic champion is considered the favorite for the tournament after returning to his "blessed land".
"I'm really happy that I managed to turn it around, it's good to be in the third round and I'm really looking forward to it," said Axelsen.
Shi Yuqi of China celebrates during his men's singles second round match against Rasmus Gemke of Denmark at the 2022 BWF World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
China's Shi Yuqi, who returned to action at the tournament after a 10-month suspension, took 46 minutes to down Rasmus Gemke of Denmark 21-13, 21-16 and reach the last 16.
The 2018 worlds finalist rated his performance "7 out of 10", one point more than his first-round show.
"I played much better than the first match, although this is still a long way from my best badminton," he said.
Japan's Akane Yamaguchi hits a return during her women's singles round of 16 match against China's Wang Zhiyi at the 2022 Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur, July 7, 2022. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)
On the women's side, Yamaguchi, who enjoyed a bye in the opening round, defeated Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-12, 21-15, and will face compatriot Sayaka Takahashi next round.
Yamaguchi had previously lost to Tunjung in the quarterfinals of last month's Malaysia Masters.
"I never felt that I had any breathing space until towards the end of the second game. It was more about dealing with my opponent than me going on the attack," the local favorite said.
China's He Bingjiao and Wang Zhiyi, who had both received byes into the second round, won their first matches of the tournament.
Ninth-seeded He defeated American Iris Wang 21-13, 21-7 and will now face Spain's three-time world champion Carolina Marin, who eliminated Canada's Zhang Wenyu 21-16, 21-14.
11th seed Wang advanced with a victory over Denmark's Line Christophersen 21-15, 21-14, and her next opponent will be compatriot Han Yue. ■
