Axelsen storms to second All England title

BIRMINGHAM: World number one Viktor Axelsen strolled to his second All England badminton title with a dominant 21-10, 21-15 win over India's Lakshya Sen in Birmingham.

The Dane was unhappy that he had seven hours fewer to recover for the final than his opponent.

But it was Sen who seemed drained from his marathon semi-final win over Lee Zii Jia as Axelsen romped to the title without even dropping a game.

"I'm super happy," said Axelsen. "When I started playing badminton, I never dreamt of winning two All England titles and I still have a lot of years in me hopefully."

When Axelsen lifted his last All England title two years ago, the spectre of COVID-19 lockdowns were on the horizon, robbing him of the chance to savour the success in front of his family.

This time, his partner Natalia and daughter Vega were in attendance to make victory taste all the sweeter.

"At the Denmark Open, I really realised how much it meant to me seeing (Vega) in the stands after my win," Axelsen added. "Today was something extra special."

World champion Akane Yamaguchi won the women's title in style with a dominant final victory over South Korea's An Se-young.

The Japanese star was a class apart from the fourth seed as she romped to a 21-15, 21-15 triumph in just 44 minutes.

"I have been here so many times, but I haven't been able to make the finals and I wasn't able to win the title," said Yamaguchi. "I am so happy that I won such a traditional tournament with such authority."

Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana marked a changing of the guard in the men's doubles as the Indonesian pair got the better of compatriots Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.

Fikri and Maulana combine for nearly half the age of their opponents, and the younger legs showed in