For the third time in 364 days, Shi Yuqi hit the first championship of the season with great difficulty, and his opponent sent him six consecutive defeats
After defeating Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Cheng 2-0, Shi Yuqi reached the men's singles final of the Japan Badminton Masters, which was his third time in the men's singles final on the international stage this year, and he was runner-up in the first two times. All indications show that it will be very difficult for Shi Yuqi to hit the first championship of the year this Sunday (November 19).
Shi Yuqi's most recent men's singles title at an international tournament came at the Australian Open last year, on November 20, 2022, nearly a year after the final of the Japan Masters. In the past year, Shi Yuqi has reached the men's singles finals of the All England Open and Asian Championships, losing to teammate Li Shifeng in both finals.
Compared with Li Shifeng, Axelsen is stronger, he has been ranked first in the world rankings since November 3, 2011, won the World Championships twice in his sports career, and is also a gold medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, especially with Shi Yuqi's past record shows an overwhelming advantage, at present they have 8 meetings, Axelsen has won 7 games, especially the last 6 encounters, Shi Yuqi's last defeat of Axelsen dates back to the end of 2017 Tour Finals. From this point of view, it is not easy for Shi Yuqi to defeat Axelsen.
Axelsen's offensive firepower is super strong, the defensive area is very large, and the past confrontations have given Shi Yuqi quite a headache. However, the Tiger still has a chance to fight, especially since Axelsen has lost significantly more times this year than in previous seasons, and this season he has been defeated by many good players such as Kunlavut, Zhou Tiancheng, and Prannoy. It can be seen that Shi Yuqi in the final of the Japan Masters is by no means without a chance to win.
This season, the national feather men's singles, which has been silent for several years, rebounded, with Li Shifeng and Shi Yuqi teaming up to win the men's singles championship and runner-up at the All England Championships and Asian Games, and Weng Hongyang winning the Australian and Danish Opens. If Shi Yuqi can defeat Axelsen to win the gold medal of the Japan Masters, it will be the one gold medal with the highest gold content in the national badminton men's singles this season, because he defeated the number one player in the world today, Axelsen. Can Shi Yuqi create miracles?