Olympic champion and World’s No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark won the Men’s Singles title defeating World’s No 6 Kodai Naraoka of Japan at the PETRONAS Malaysia Open 2023 held from 10th to 15th January 2023 in Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Viktor Axelsen, the defending champion, won the Malaysia Open title for the 2nd time. This made him the 1st men’s singles player since record 12-time champion Lee Chong Wei in 2014 to win back-to-back Malaysia Opens.
Japan’s Yamaguchi Akane(World’s No 1) defeated South Korea’s An Se-Young(World’s No 4) to win the Women’s Singles title at the Malaysia Open 2023.
- This was Japan’s first-ever Malaysia Open women’s singles title.
Key Points:
i.Malaysia Open 2023 marks Viktor Axelsen’s 9th consecutive final in BWF Super 1000 level tournaments and his 8th title in the Super 1000 series.
ii.He is the 1st singles player to have won every BWF World Tour 1000 title in the same season.
Malaysia Open 2023:
i.Malaysia Open 2023, known as Petronas Malaysia Open 2023, is the 1st Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour event of 2023.
ii.It is a part of the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000. This was the first Malaysia Open to hold a Super 1000 status.
iii.The event has a total prize of USD 1,250,000.
China won Women’s doubles and Mixed Doubles:
i.China’s Women’s doubles pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan (World’s No 1 Women’s doubles pair) defeated South Korea’s Baek Ha Na and Lee Yu Lim (World No 15) to win the Women’s Doubles title.
ii.World’s No 1 Mixed Doubles pair Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong of China won the Mixed doubles title defeating world’s No 3 Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan.
Men’s Doubles:
i.World’s No 1 Men’s Doubles Pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia won the Men’s doubles title defeating China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang(world’s No 11) in the finals.
- Malaysia Open 2023 marks their first Super 1000 title.
- They are the first men’s pair to win at least a title each in Super 300, 500, 750 and 1000.
ii.World No.6 Men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India lost in the semifinals against China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
Note: BWF World Rankings mentioned above are as of 17th January 2023.
Winners & Runners of Malaysia Open 2023:
| Category | Winner | Runner |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s Singles | Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) | Kodai Naraoka (Japan) |
| Women’s Singles | Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) | An Se Young (South Korea) |
| Men’s Doubles | Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Indonesia) | Liang Wei Keng Wang Chang (China) |
| Women’s Doubles | Chen Qing Chen Jia Yi Fan (China) | Baek Ha Na Lee Yu Lim (South Korea) |
| Mixed Doubles | Zheng Si Wei Huang Ya Qiong (China) | Yuta Watanabe Arisa Higashino (Japan) |
About Badminton World Federation(BWF):
President– Poul-Erik Høyer(Denmark)
Headquarters– Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
