In a thrilling quarterfinal at the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open, good friends found themselves on opposite sides of the net, with Viktor Axelsen facing off against Loh Kean Yew.
The clash began with a shaky start for Viktor Axelsen, quickly falling behind at 2-9. Despite the rough opening, Axelsen made an impressive comeback, narrowing the gap to 9-11 by the break. He described his mindset during the match: “A combination of anger, motivation, and willingness to find solutions. Sometimes I try to do that in different ways. A bit more emotional at the moment because I feel like I need to be so in order to find that drive.”
Loh maintained his lead, though by a slimmer margin, until Axelsen caught up, eventually securing the first game 21-19 in a closely contested finish – a triumphant shout and a fist pump showed how crucial this first game win was for the Dane.
The second game saw a more focused Axelsen, though Loh continued to press, eventually taking the game, 21-13, to push towards a decider. Axelsen entered the third game extremely determined, building a lead of 11-4 at the break and maintaining his momentum to close out the match convincingly with a score of 21-8.
Reflecting on his physical condition and the match, Axelsen shared, “I’m not at all at my fittest, at my best. The preparations before this have been very bad. Every single match is a bonus to me, and today I played against such a strong opponent, Loh, who’s also a good friend of mine. I went in and hoped that I could win this match, but I didn’t really have high expectations. It was actually quite an intense match.”
Axelsen now moves on to the semifinals, facing either Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi or Indonesia’s Jonathan Christie, who are playing the last match of the day.