Mumbai Mumbai. Winning a third India Open title after reaching the final for the first time a decade ago shows his longevity and two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen felt “incredible” after winning here on Sunday. The 31-year-old Dane said this The victory has rekindled his motivation after a lull following the Olympic victory in Paris. Axelsen, playing his sixth India Open final in 10 years, the 2017 and 2019 winner, registered a 21-16, 21-8 win over last year's finalist Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in the men's singles final.
Axelsen said, “It's my first title as a 31-year-old. I was in my first final here 10 years ago, which was crazy. To win for the third time in my sixth final feels pretty surreal. It's amazing.” Following his victory at the Paris Olympics, Axelsen suffered some injury problems and was forced to withdraw from the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals due to a foot injury, failing to defend his title.
The two-time world champion returned to Malaysia but lost to Lee in the opening round of the Super 1000 event last week and also struggled to win matches in the quarter-finals and semi-finals at the India Open. “This title is really very special to me. After the Olympics I was struggling a bit because of injuries, training and lack of motivation. But this week I felt like a competitor. “I dug deep in almost every single match and found solutions. And winning here means a lot. This inspires me a lot.
“Yeah, now I feel like I really have some work to do. I won a title here, but titles aren't everything to me. I want to keep getting better and find solutions in different situations. And I'm sure “I've managed to do that this week. So I'm very proud and happy.” Axelsen admitted that he had still not achieved his best form, but said that the victory had given him confidence to target bigger titles with more training.
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