Paris: Olympic bronze medalist and current World No. 5 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, who became the overwhelming favorite for the 2016 French Open after No. 1 seed Lee Chong Wei pulled out from the tournament due to injury, stumbled in the second round on Thursday as he lost to 36-year-old Lee Hyun Il of Korea 20-22, 12-21 in 40 minutes.
This was the second defeat that the 22-year-old Axelsen has suffered against Lee in a span of one week. Lee got the last laugh over Axelsen after the two met in the second round of Denmark Open last Thursday.
Lee is set to take on No. 5 seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan in the quarter-finals.
India’s Olympic women’s singles silver medalist P.V. Sindhu who secured a straight sets victory over He Bingjiao of China in her Denmark Open opener last Wednesday, succumbed to He Bingjiao of China in the second round of French Open when the Indian badminton ace went down fighting 20-22, 17-21 in a 41 minutes battle.
He Bingjiao will play Chiang Mei Hui of Taiwan on Friday for a spot in the semi-final.
