Kunlavut Vitidsarn bowed out of the US$950,000 Denmark Open on Friday after losing to Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals.
Third seed Kunlavut went down 21-13, 12-21, 18-21 in an hour and 11 minutes as Odense native Axelsen won the first meeting since their Olympic final at Paris 2024.
Axelsen, who had back surgery in April, only made his comeback at a tournament in Hong Kong a month ago.
Kunlavut made a strong start and took a 4-0 lead but Axelsen gradually clawed his way back into the game.
However, when the Dane seemed to have things under control, Kunlavut stepped up and won 10 straight points to take the first game.
Axelsen was fast off the block in the second game. The two-time Olympic champion was ahead 11-4 and never looked back as the match went to a deciding third.
Kunlavut played some superb badminton in the third and pushed Axelsen relentlessly but the Dane often ended up winning points when he otherwise looked to be outplayed.
Both players looked exhausted towards the end, but with enormous backing from the passionate Odense crowd, Axelsen found the strength to pull through and earn his ticket to the semi-final of the Super 750 event. agencies