Denmark's Viktor Axelsen and An Se-young of South Korea claimed the badminton men's and women's singles title on the sport's last competition day at Paris 2024.日本萝莉
PARIS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and An Se-young of South Korea clinched gold medals in men's and women's badminton singles events, respectively, at the Paris Olympics on Monday, to conclude the sport's competitions.
A total of 15 medals were distributed among seven countries, as China leads the tally with two golds and three silvers.
Defending Olympics champion Axelsen triumphed over Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final with an easy 21-11日本萝莉, 21-11 victory. Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia secured the bronze after rallying past India's Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11.
就去吻Axelsen, the No. 2 seed from Denmark, has become the second athlete after China's Lin Dan to defend the men's singles title.
The 30-year-old Dane broke a six-month title drought in May by winning the 2024 Malaysia Masters, setting the tone for his Olympic success.
Axelsen started strong in the preliminary stages, winning all three matches to advance to the knockout rounds. After receiving a bye in the first knockout round, he overcame Singapore's Loh Kean Yew and India's Lakshya Sen before defeating the reigning world champion Vitidsarn in the final.
In the women's singles, South Korea's top seed An Se-young outplayed China's He Bingjiao with scores of 21-13, 21-16 to secure the gold medal. Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung took the bronze after Spain's Carolina Marin was forced to withdraw due to injury.
"That was amazing and I felt so happy," An said after the match. The 22-year-old Korean first surged to international attention with a victory at the 2019 New Zealand Open.
An's impressive career was amplified with 10 individual titles in 2023, including a gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Despite a knee injury diagnosed after Asian Games, she extended her momentum into the Games.
An had previously reached the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympics, losing to eventual champion Chen Yufei from China. Ahead of the Games日本萝莉, An had already secured three titles and a runner-up finish in Opens in 2024, she was poised to be a strong contender for the title here and actually delivered the expectations. ■