Olympic champion Axelsen cruises to first Hong Kong Open title

Hong Kong: Double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen cruised to his maiden Hong Kong Open title on Sunday, defeating China s Lei Lanxi 21 9, 21...

Hong Kong: Double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen cruised to his maiden Hong Kong Open title on Sunday, defeating China's Lei Lanxi 21-9, 21-12.

The Dane had not dropped a game all week in his first tournament since winning gold in Paris and took just 44 minutes to dispatch Lei 21-9, 21-12 in front of an adoring capacity crowd at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

It was the world number second Badminton World Federation tour title this year following his win at May's Malaysia Masters and he said he was "a bit surprised but happy", because maintaining his form since the Olympics had been "stressful".

"I managed to play very aggressively, but also with a great balance to my game," he told AFP, biting into a traditional mooncake -- a gift from fans for the Mid-Autumn Festival, a national holiday in China this week.

World number 22 Lei, in only his second tour level final, made a bright start to both games but the 26-year-old soon found it tough to keep pace with Axelsen, who became the first Dane to lift the men's singles title in Hong Kong since Peter Gade in 1997.