Denmark's Axelsen wins singles badminton gold

TOKYO: Denmark's world No. 2 Victor Axelsen outclassed China's defending champion Chen Long 21-15, 21-12 in the men's singles badminton final to claim the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics here on Monday.

After tying at 9-9, Axelsen reinforced his strong smashes to take a 21-15 lead. Chen failed to come back and Axelsen wrapped up the second set 21-12.

In their previous encounter at Rio 2016, Chen had routed Axelsen 21-14, 21-15 in the semifinal before he beat Malaysia's legendary shuttler Lee Chong Wei to win his first Olympic gold.

Earlier in the day, Indonesia's fifth seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting needed only 38 minutes to defeat the tournament's dark horse and world No. 59 Kevin Cordon from Guatemala 21-11, 21-13 and win the bronze medal.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's world No. 6 shuttlers Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu beat China's second seeds Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan 21-19, 21-15 in the women's doubles final here. The Indonesian pair raced to a strong start and kept the advantage till the end. In the second set, Chen and Jia, unable to bounce back, appeared overwhelmed by their opponents. IANS

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