Viktor Axelsen exited the Malaysia Open semi-finals with a warning to the rest of the men’s singles contenders, insisting he will be ‘really scary’ at the Paris Olympics just six months away.
“I’m in a good place. I just won the World Tour Finals a few weeks ago. I feel good too. Give me a few months with proper practice and I will be really scary for the Olympics,” Axelsen said after his defeat.
The rest of the chasing pack best heed the reigning Olympic champion’s warning as he laid down the marker in his bid to defend his gold medal won in Tokyo three years ago.
The world number one had won seven titles last year, including the season-ending World Tour Finals last December when he defeated Shi.
But the Chinese foiled the Dane on Saturday to deny him a third consecutive Malaysia Open crown after prevailing 21-12, 19-21, 21-17 in an action-packed semi-finals on Saturday.
Axelsen did everything he could to reach a third consecutive final against the Chinese, diving all over the court at one point in a desperate attempt to save some of the rallies.
He later highlighted that he had not rested much and had sufficient training time after the World Tour Finals before coming to play in Kuala Lumpur.
“You know what, there’s not much rest for badminton players and I could have used maybe one week extra to prepare myself. I am going to take January and February to prepare myself physically and mentally because there’s a long gap for me to be at my best,” he added.
Axelsen also was not sure if he is going to feature at the India Open next week after injuring his right knee during one intense rally with Shi in the second game.
