SYDNEY: World number one Chen Long was taken to three games before downing Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen to win the Australian Open Badminton Superseries final in Sydney on Sunday.
The Chinese star defeated the world number nine Axelsen 21-12, 14-21, 21-18 in one hour and 17 minutes.
Chen now leads Axelsen 4-0 in their tournament meetings.
Chen had reached the men’s final after beating 10th-ranked Tian Houwei in an all-Chinese semi-final, 21-14, 21-19 on Saturday.
Spain’s world number three Carolina Marin took the women’s singles in a tight contest with China’s sixth-ranked Wang Shixian 22-20, 21-18 in just under an hour.
It was a big week for the Spaniard, who beat South Korea’s world number seven Sung Ji-Hyun 21-13, 21-14 to reach Sunday’s final after losing to India’s Saina Nehwal in last year’s tournament decider. The Australia Open is the fifth event of the BWF World Superseries circuit and counts towards qualifying for next year’s Rio Olympics. (AFP)
