KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Lee Chong Wei was not entirely disappointed to miss out on a seventh Japan Open title, following his defeat to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the final on Sunday.
In fact, the Malaysian former world No 1 is pleased with his overall performance, despite losing 21-14, 19-21, 21-14 to the reigning world champion.
When contacted, Chong Wei who has now reached nine Japan Open finals, said: "I am not disappointed, I think I did really well to reach the final. This was my ninth Japan Open final, so I am pretty happy with that.
"Following my first round exit at the World Championships (Glasgow) last month, I lost a lot of confidence, so coming here was not easy.
"My physical condition was not at its best, so reaching the final here is a good sign. I think throughout the competition, today's (Sunday) match against Axelsen was the best. I wasn't thinking too much, just one match at a time.
"I now have about three weeks to go before the Denmark and French Opens next month, so I will take this time to prepare well."
Axelsen, who has only defeated Chong Wei once (2016 World Super Series Finals) prior to the final at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, is also expected to move up to No 1 spot when the new ranking is published by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday.
The 23-year-old Dane, who saw off five-time world champion Lin Dan to the world title last month, pocketed US$24,375 (approximately RM102,000) in prize money while Chong Wei settled for US$12,350 (approximately RM52,000).
Meanwhile in the women's singles final, Spain's Carolina Marin came out tops with a straight 23-21, 21-12 win over China's He Bingjiao.
FINAL RESULTS
Men's singles: Viktor Axelsen (Den) bt Lee Chong Wei 21-14, 19-21, 21-14; Doubles: Gideon Marcus Fernaldi-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Ina) bt Takuto Inoue-Yuki Kaneko (Jpn) 21-12, 21-15; Women's singles: Carolina Marin (Spa) bt He Bingjiao (Chn) 23-21, 21-12; Doubles: Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) bt Kim Ha Na-Kong Hee Yong (Kor) 21-18, 21-16; Mixed doubles: Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Takuro Hoki-Sayaka Hirota (Jpn) 21-13, 21-8