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PARIS: Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen successfully retained his title by defeating world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the men’s singles final of the Olympic badminton event in Paris on Monday (Aug 5).
With the cheers of many Danish fans at the La Chapelle Arena, second seed Axelsen defeated his eighth seed opponent 21-11, 21-11 in 52 minutes.
The lanky Dane became the first male athlete to retain his Olympic men’s singles title since Chinese legend Lin Dan, who won the title in 2008 and 2012.
The silver medal won by Wititsan is the first Olympic badminton medal in Thailand’s history.
The Thai started well but Axelsen soon found his rhythm and built a lead in the first game.
He finished the match in the 24th minute, winning it with a shot that hit the net and dropped, and raised his hands to apologize.
In the second game, Axelsen was unstoppable again. With a height of 1.94 meters, he fully utilized his strength and launched fierce smashes.
After winning the championship, he grabbed a Danish flag and cheered on the field.
Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia won the bronze medal by defeating India’s Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11.
China topped the badminton medal table for the seventh consecutive time at an Olympic Games, winning gold medals in both the mixed doubles and women’s doubles events.
A Taiwanese athlete won the men’s doubles championship, and South Korean athlete An Se-young won the women’s singles gold medal.
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