Badminton News: The 2023 Canada Open has started with excitement, attracting the attention of badminton fans across North America. However, Denmark’s top men’s singles player, Viktor Axelsen, has made the decision to withdraw from competition, citing the need for recovery and high-quality training after his recent participation in the Indonesia Open and the 2023 European Games.

Viktor Axelsen expressed his regrets to Canadian badminton fans but assured them of his future return.

Below is Viktor Axelsen’s social media post regarding his withdrawal from the Canadian Open:

“Hi my friend. Unfortunately, I will not be going to Calgary for the Canadian Open as originally planned.

I have pushed my body over the past 4 weeks to prepare and perform at the Indonesia Open and European Games and my body is telling me that recovery followed by high quality training is what is needed to over the next few weeks.

Sorry, Canadian badminton fans – I hope to continue and can’t wait to compete in Calgary! But see you next time and I’ll be back in Canada soon.

With Axelsen’s absence, the men’s singles category now presents an open field for other talented players to take advantage of the opportunity. Competitors such as second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, third and fourth seeds Kodai Naraoka and Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, fifth seed Li Shifeng of China and even unseeded Kenta Momota of Japan are all aiming for the men’s singles title. .

On the opening day of the tournament, only a few matches took place, mainly in the men’s and women’s doubles divisions. Top-seeded pair Takuro Hoki/ugo Kobayashi put in an impressive performance as they defeated Chen Boyang/Liu Yi, ranked 55th in the world, with a score of 21-14, 21-13 in just 31 minutes.

They are now waiting to face twin duo Lee Fang-Chih and Lee Fang-Jen from Chinese Taipei.

Several high-profile men’s doubles pairs also advanced in the tournament, including second seed Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan, third seed Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark, fifth seed Lee Yang and Wang Chinese Taipei’s Chi-Lin, sixth seed Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-hsuan, and seventh seed Akira Koga and Taichi Saito of Japan.

Article label: Viktor Axelsen, Canadian Open 2023