Lei Lanxi of China celebrates his victory over Viktor Axelsen of Denmark (not pictured) after their men's singles first round match at the BWF China Open in Changzhou, China, September 18, 2024. /CFP
Two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark was shocked by China's Lei Lanxi in three games in the opening round of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) China Open in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, on Wednesday.
Lei, ranked 28th in the world, played fearlessly against the world number two Axelsen and claimed the first game 21-19.
Axelsen, who has won back-to-back Olympic golds in Tokyo and Paris, fought back to take the second game 21-17, closing out the frame with an exquisite drop shot.
Lei played more aggressively in the deciding game and the 26-year-old sealed the deal 21-16 with a powerful smash. Lei earned his first victory over Axelsen and will face Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in the second round.
Lei Lanxi (L) of China shakes hands with Viktor Axelsen of Denmark at the net after their men's singles first round match at the BWF China Open in Changzhou, China, September 18, 2024. /CFP
"I just wanted to release myself and challenge him," said Lei. "I think I played very well today."
"Lei played better than me. I hope he can get a good result at the China Open," said Axelsen. "Actually, he also played well last week. I'm happy to see young players making progress, and they will help the development of badminton in the future."
Li Shifeng of China hits a backhand against Chou Tien-Chen of Chinese Taipei in their men's singles first round match at the BWF China Open in Changzhou, China, September 18, 2024. /CFP
Another Chinese player, Li Shifeng, couldn't battle back after falling behind 18-15 in the first game of his match against Chou Tien-Chen of Chinese Taipei and dropped the opening game 21-17.
The fourth-seeded Li went down 12-2 in the second game, but surged back to level the score at 15-15.
He failed to completely turn things around, however, and Chou landed an emphatic smash to take the game 21-18 and sweep to victory. The World No. 9 will face another opponent from China, Weng Hongyang, in the second round.
Gao Fangjie of China makes a thumbs-up gesture after her victory against compatriot Han Yue (not pictured) in their women's singles first round match at the BWF China Open in Changzhou, China, September 18, 2024. /CFP
On the women's side, Hong Kong Open champion Han Yue's winning streak came to an end with a stunning loss to compatriot Gao Fangjie 21-15, 21-18 in the opening round.
Another Chinese player, Zhang Yiman, beat the USA's Lauren Lam 22-20, 21-11 to reach the second round.