Axelsen suffers shock first-round loss in All England Open, says he will take a break from the sport

Dane Viktor Axelsen’s quest for a third All England title ended on Wednesday as he lost 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 to Taiwan’s Lin Chun-Yi in a big first-round upset on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Axelsen, one of the favourites to win the tournament, told Danish TV2 he would take a break from the sport.

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“I didn’t have the best feeling out there. I think it’ll be a while before I’m back on court,“ he said.

“I don’t want to go into details. I think a longer break is ahead for me.”

Olympic champion An Se-Young of South Korea eased past China’s Gao Fang Jie 21-16 21-14.