KUALA LUMPUR: Two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen's dream of completing a Malaysia Open hat-trick went up in smoke at the Axiata Arena today.
The Danish world No. 4 was hardly himself as he fell 21-17, 21-13 to Hong Kong's world No. 21 Lee Cheuk Yiu.
It was an anti-climax for Axelsen who secured an unprecedented Denmark's Athlete of the Year award for the third time over the weekend.
The Malaysia Open winner in 2022 and 2023, Axelsen admitted that he was physically not at his best.
Axelsen had suffered a leg injury after the China Masters in November and subsequently withdrew from the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou last month, but the break wasn't sufficient for the Dane to mount a strong challenge in Malaysia.
"I don't think I'm physically strong at the moment and I need to fix that. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to practise prior to the tournament," said Axelsen.
"I was feeling good after I came back from my vacation (in the Maldives), but suffered the injury again during training.
"Having said that, I don't want to take the credit away from Cheuk Yiu who played really well."
Axelsen's exit leaves world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China, who defeated Japanese Kenta Nishimoto 21-16, 20-22, 21-16, and Denmark's world No. 2 Anders Antonsen as well as Indonesian world No. 3 Jonatan Christie as the contenders for the title.