World No.1 Viktor Axelsen claimed the men’s singles title at the season-opening BWF Malaysia Open, easily crushing Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 21-6, 21-15 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The Danish defending champion, who was the top seed in the Malaysian capital, took only 40 minutes to triumph at the US$1.25 million World Tour Super 1000 event at the Axiata Arena.
Olympic champion Axelsen, 29, was in sensational form last year, winning eight titles including the All England and World Championships and showed no sign of slowing down after cruising to victory in his first tournament of the year.
Naraoka and Axelsen previously faced off at December’s World Tour Finals in a semi-final which Axelsen won.
Naraoka had knocked out Thai rising star Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The women’s singles crown went to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan after the top seed…
