PETALING JAYA: Two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen has tipped a three-way battle for the men’s singles crown at the World Championships in Paris – with Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia lurking as a dangerous dark horse.
Sidelined by a back injury, Axelsen will not feature in the prestigious meet starting Monday, but the Dane is keeping a close watch and believes his teammate Anders Antonsen, China’s Shi Yuqi and Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn are the main contenders for the title.
He believes that Zii Jia could also pose a threat if he returned with good form.
Yuqi, Antonsen and Kunlavut are ranked No. 1, 2 and 3 respectively in the world currently and have been the three most consistent performers this year.
“For me, Yuqi is the favourite for the title along with Kunlavut and Antonsen,” said Axelsen.
“The three of them look the strongest players this year. They have been the most consistent.
“Let’s see who can win among them or will there be someone else. Anything can happen in a major tournament.”
Axelsen knows what it takes to win the title as he triumphed in 2017 in Glasgow and 2022 in Tokyo.
In his absence this time, Antonsen will be Denmark’s best hope and the 28-year-old will be out to capture the gold for the first time.
Antonsen came closest to the title in 2019 but he was denied by Japan’s Kento Momota in the final in Basel.
Yuqi will also be looking for his maiden gold and is in fine form heading to Paris after claiming the back-to-back Japan Open and China Open titles last month.
For Kunlavut, he will be keen to defend his title after becoming the first Thai to triumph in the men’s singles in 2023 in Copenhagen.
The others who could challenge for the title are Yuqi’s teammate world No. 4 Li Shifeng, world No. 7 Frenchman Alex Lanier and Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie (No. 5).
Axelsen believes Zii Jia could be a tough opponent for anyone if he can regain his form quickly.
“It’s a hard tournament to come back after an injury and fire on all cylinders. I don’t know about his current level, so it’s hard to make a guess,” said Axelsen.
“But he’s not a fun opponent to meet if he plays well.
“You don’t want to meet him early in the tournament because if his smashes are accurate and he has good timing with his shots, it’s not going to be a fun match and you will also have some pressure.”
Zii Jia has struggled with an ankle injury this year and only competed in two tournaments before this - the Orleans Masters and All-England in March.
The 27-year-old will face South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok-jin in the first round and a win will likely see him go up against world No. 4 Shifeng for a place in the third round.
Besides Zii Jia, Malaysia will be relying on Leong Jun Hao too but hopes are not high on both.
While Zii Jia’s fitness will be under scrutiny, Jun Hao has struggled for consistency this year but should clear his opening hurdle against Switzerland’s Tobias Kuenzi.
The world No. 25 though could have a tricky task against either Japan’s world No. 14 Kenta Nishimoto or Taiwan’s Wang Tzu-wei (No. 28) in the second round.
