HIGH-CLASS VICTORY:
Chen Long (left) of China shakes hands with Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen after their men’s singles quarter-final match during the badminton World Championships in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Chen will play Shi Yuqi in the all-Chinese semi-final following his emphatic 21-19, 21-11 over the world number one.
NANJING, China: Holder Viktor Axelsen said that he made “way too many mistakes” as the Dane was dumped out of the badminton World Championships quarterfinals on Friday by China’s Chen Long.
The top-ranked players in both the men’s and women’s draws are now out, after Taiwan’s Tai Tzuying was beaten earlier in the day in Nanjing by another Chinese.
Olympic champion Chen will play Shi Yuqi in an all- Chinese semi-final following his high-class and emphatic 21-19, 21-11 victory over Axelsen.
There was a moment o f controversy and the first game was held up for two minutes as the 29-year- old Chen disputed a call that fell in favour of the strapping Dane.
But the 24-year-old world number one, who has single- handedly broken Asia’s stranglehold on men’s badminton in the last year, was always playing catch-up.
“He was a lot better than me today, unfortunately,” said Axelsen, who tossed his racquet spinning into the air after losing the first game, drawing a withering look from the chair umpire. But life goes on and I have to learn from this. He and I have had many good matches together and of course I respect him and wish him all the best.”
In the women’s draw, Olympic champion Carol ina Marin bel lowed and blustered her way into the semi- finals with a devastating victory over India’s Saina Nehwal.
The 25- year- old Spaniard is chasing a third world crown and on this form could well get it.
Marin plays China’s He Bingjiao in the last four after the sixth seed stunned Taiwan’s Tai.
Marin destroyed Nehwal, who cut a demoralised figure by the end of a 21- 6, 21-11 mauling.
The Spaniard is particularly vocal and demonstrative on court, shouting or screaming in Spanish after every winning point and before serving too. One member of the audience took to imitating her. Asked by AFP what she was hollering, Marin replied with a laugh: “I cannot tell you!
“It is just something I keep to myself. It was not a strategy against Saina, it is something I do against any opponent. I do it for myself.
“I learnt to do this some years ago, it was not something I did
He (Chen Long) was a lot better than me today, unfortunately. But life goes on and I have to learn from this.
from the beginning of my career, that’s impossible because I was too young. I had to learn many things in my career, and this is one thing I learnt.”
Nehwal, a former number one who looked shell- shocked afterwards, said that she had no complaints about Marin’s behaviour.
“The pace she is playing at is quite tremendous, she was very fast,” said Nehwal, 28, who won Commonwealth Games gold earlier this year.
The strongly fancied Tai tasted just a second defeat in 35 matches, a run which brought five titles and had made her the woman to beat in Nanjing.
But the 24-year- old was sloppy at times against He, making a series of errors at the net, going out of the tournament over three unpredictable games. China’s He emerged after just under an hour, 21-18, 7-21, 21-13.
Viktor Axelsen, world number one