Axelsen lauds Zii Jia, Malaysian fans in epic final; Sindhu falls short
Victor Axelsen lauded Lee Zii Jia for the epic Malaysian Masters Super 500 final on Sunday, while PV Sindhu fell short in her title chase.
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AXELSEN LAUDS ZII JIA AFTER WINNING CLOSE MALAYSIAN MASTERS FINAL
Axelsen paid tribute to Zii Jia and the Malaysian fans who rooted for his finals opponent after the world No.1 pulled off an epic 21-6, 20-22, 21-13 win in the men’s singles title match.
The Danish superstar had to gut it out in the third set after Zii Jia forced the decider in their 63-minute match at the Axiata Arena.
Axelsen dominated the opening set before finding tougher resistance from Zii Jia, who responded behind a cheering home crowd behind him to extend the match.
“All credit to him (Zii Jia) though. He put me under a lot of pressure together with thousands of fans there were here,” the Dane said.
“I couldn’t even hear myself and definitely couldn’t hear what my coach was saying either,” he added.
It was Axelsen’s second Malaysia Masters and 29th overall on the World Tour, as he also extended to 7-3 his head-to-head matchup over Zii Jia.
It was a tough loss for Zii Jia, who won over India’s Kiran George on Thursday on his route to the final.
SINDHU FALLS SHORT, LOSES TO WANG IN WOMEN’S FINAL
Sindhu, meanwhile, fell short in her quest for the title after also dropping a tough three-setter to Wang Zhi Yi of China, 21-16, 5-21, 16-21, in the women’s singles final.
The Indian women’s superstar had an impressive opening set but could not sustain her attack against China’s World No.7 in the final two sets.
Sindhu took an 11-3 lead in the final set but she fell into a maze of errors, allowing Wang to win 18 of the next 23 points to win the 79-minute showdown.
“It’s a bit disappointing, but a lot of positives to take from this match and the whole tournament as well,” the double Olympic medallist said.
“I am happy that I at least came to the finals, I played well. These matches will definitely give me a lot of confidence, but I could have won that,” she added.
DANES, JAPANESE, MALAYSIAN PAIRS WON DOUBLES TITLES
Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen joined Axelsen among Danish winners after they pulled off a 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 victory over South Korea’s Jin Yong and Na Sung Seung to win the men’s doubles final.
Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan defeated Lee Yu Lim and Sin Seung Chan of South Korea, 17-21, 21-19, 21-18, to claim the women’s doubles title.
Goh Soon Hat and Shevon Lai gave Malaysian fans something to cheer about despite Zii Jia’s heartbreaking loss.
The Malaysian pair won over Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari of Indonesia, 21-18, 21-19, to collect the mixed doubles title.
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