Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen set to chase record Hong Kong Open jackpot
Tournament returning to Hong Kong Coliseum in September with record prize fund and 20 home competitors
Organisers of the Li-Ning Hong Kong Open have staged a coup by persuading double badminton Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen to defend his title when the tournament returns next month.
Last year, in his first competition after claiming his second straight Olympic gold in Paris, Denmark’s Axelsen broke his Hong Kong duck by beating China’s Lei Lanxi in a one-sided final.
For this year’s event, set for Hong Kong Coliseum from September 9 to 14, Axelsen will be joined in a loaded men’s draw by China’s world No 1, Shi Yuqi.
The dramatic thunderstorms on Tuesday washed out a planned press conference, but not the enthusiasm of organisers, who anticipated the six-day event sparking a “new wave of sporting excitement in Hong Kong”.
The Hong Kong men’s charge will be led by world No 13 and 2019 champion Lee Cheuk-yiu, along with Angus Ng Ka-long, who became the first home winner in 2016, and Jason Gunawan, a quarter-finalist last year.
Hong Kong could be the stage for Dubai-based Axelsen’s return to action after he had surgery in April to cure long-standing back problems.