Yes, you've read correctly. Viktor Axelsen has lost a badminton match. After an unbelievable streak of 34 wins in a row the World and Olympic Champion was defeated by his friend Loh Kean Yew (Singapore) in the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open 2022. 

"I played against a better player today", said Axelsen after losing the match 17-21 10-21, and continued: "Bad day at the office for me and Loh played a great game. The shuttles were really fast [...],he played a good attacking game and I didn't stand many chances." 

Axelsen's defeat was a surprise for many badminton fans as it was only his second loss of the year after falling short to Lakshya Sen (India) in the semifinals of the German Open in march. 

The Dane was "really disappointed" about his performance and will now go on to spend a few days with his family before stepping on court at the French Open next week. 

Loh Kean Yew has beaten Axelsen back-to-back as he also won their last clash in the first round of the World Championships in 2021, where he went on to win the title afterwards. When being asked about the key for today's victory Loh said: "I think it was the net-play. The shuttles were crazy fast today. It was not easy to control so I tried to keep the shuttle low and that worked out for me." 

Gicquel and Delrue couldn't convert two game points

The French mixed Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue also did not manage to advance to the semifinals. They lost 20-22 13-21 to the reigning World Champions Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong from China.

The French were leading in the first game and had two game points at 20-18 but couldn't convert one of them.

"Speaking for myself, I tried too much to win the rallies. Before that, we stayed calm and patient in the front court. In the end I played with too much speed. That's why we lost the first game", summarised Gicquel. 

No European players will be participating in the semifinals of this years Denmark Open but all badminton fans will get to watch a great show in the Jykse Bank Arena in Odense with big names like Lee Zii Jia (Malaysia), Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) or Gideon/Sukamuljo (Indonesia) stepping on court from 10:00AM on. 

Find all results from the quarterfinals here.