AS far as the men's singles event is concerned, Denmark's Viktor Axelsen is the man to beat.
This was pointed out by world No 5 Lee Zii Jia, who yesterday went down fighting 19-21, 21-11, 23-21 to the Danish world No 1 in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open.
According to Zii Jia, the reigning Olympic champion is a complete player, making it extremely difficult for opponents to break him down.
Despite saving four-match points in the deciding game and taking the lead at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Zii Jia still failed to subdue Axelsen — a feat he last achieved in the final of the All England last year.
For the record, Zii Jia has only defeated the former world champion twice in seven meetings.
Speaking to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) after his semi-final match yesterday, the 24-year-old Malaysian conceded: "Axelsen is enjoying a great run in form, and I think no one can really beat him right now.
"Mentally, he is very strong, very firm.
"He is 100 per cent focused when he is on court, and that makes it very hard to break him down.
"He can beat most of his opponents with scores under 10 points."
Zii Jia, who has been in impeccable form himself, having clinched two titles — Asian Championships and Thailand Open — on the trot last month, wants to focus on improving his own game rather than dwell on his defeat.
The 24-year-old will compete for honours next at the Malaysia Open, Malaysia Masters, and Singapore Open.
"I still have catching up to do. I have three back-to-back tournaments coming up. I will focus on bouncing back.
"Overall, I did not do badly here in Indonesia, with one quarter-final (Indonesia Masters) and one semi-final finish," added Zii Jia, who will lead Malaysia's badminton team at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games next month.
Earlier this year, the Kedah-born, who left the national setup to pursue a professional career, inspired the Malaysian team to a historic Badminton Asia Team Championships title in Shah Alam.
KW: Badminton, Indonesia Open, Viktor Axelsen, Lee Zii Jia,