Tokyo: Viktor Axelsen advanced to the final of Japan Open Superseries on Saturday after he defeated No. 6 seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan 21-19, 21-13 in 42 minutes.
The Japan Open final is also Axelsen’s fourth career Superseries final.
Two-time Olympic gold-medallist and five-time world champion Lin Dan swept aside Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto 21-17, 21-17 in 54 minutes in other men’s singles semi-finals. Lin Dan enjoyed a 5-2 head-to-head record against Sugiarto after the victory.
“Lin was more prepared, he was able to predict all my moves during the match,” said Sugiarto after the match.
Japanese shuttlers Akane Yamaguchi and Nozomi Okuhara will set up an all-Japanese women’s singles final on Sunday, after both of them pulled off stunning upsets over two higher ranked players. Yamaguchi fought through a grueling semi-final match to trounce No. 7 seed Wang Shixian 21-12, 15-21, 26-24 in 83 minutes; while Okuhara manage to beat No. 4 seed Tai Tzu Ying in thrilling Japan open semi-final, winning 21-12, 14-21, 21-19 in 63 minutes.
