India Open 2017: Viktor Axelsen crushes Tien Chen Chou to win men's singles title

New Delhi: Viktor Axelsen of Denmark steamrolled Chinese Taipei’s Tien Chen Chou in straight games to emerge men’s singles champion at the India Open Super Series badminton tournament, in New Delhi on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_3364562” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Viktor Axelsen in action in the men’s singles final of the India Open 2017. AFP[/caption] Third seed Axelsen crushed Chou 21-13 21-10 in just 36 minutes to claim his maiden India Open title at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. Coming into the match, the Dane was regarded an outright favourite and he was the superior of the two shuttlers on the court as he controlled the proceedings from the word go. Throughout the match, the Chinese Taipei shuttler was struggling to match his opponent’s superior game and court coverage. Axelsen adopted an aggressive approach throughout the match and barring a lapse in concentration at the start of the opening game, the Dane produced a blemish-less display on the court. After pocketing the first game 21-13, Axelsen made a slow start in the second game. Chou made a promising start in the second game to race to a 5-0 lead but just when it seemed Axelsen was taking it lightly he came back into his fore soon and pocketed a few straight points to take a 11-6 lead at the break. From there on there was no stopping the Danish shuttler as he gave very little breathing space to his opponent to pocket the game 21-10 and seal the affair in his favour. Earlier in the day, seventh seeded Japanese duo of Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto stunned third seeded compatriots Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao 16-21 21-19 21-10 to lift the women’s doubles title. Later, top seeds Siwei Zheng and Qingchen Chen of China defeated countrymate and second seeds Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong 22-24 21-14 21-17 to claim the mixed doubles title.