Source:Visual China Group/VCG
[Saba Sports News] In the first round of the men’s singles at the 2024 China Badminton Open, Viktor Axelsen faced Lei Lanxi. Axelsen continued to showcase his signature shaking serve. However, this time the referee did not let him off easy and directly penalized him a point. Statistics show that this is the first time Axelsen’s signature serve has been penalized by a referee. Axelsen was quite unhappy about this and immediately approached the referee to argue. Irish referee Maurice Halpin stated, “Your serve took too long!” After being penalized a point at the start, Axelsen noticeably complied more and sped up his serves afterward. It is well-known that Axelsen likes to shake from side to side while serving, which has long drawn dissatisfaction from many players. Although the Badminton World Federation does not specify a time limit for serving, referees have discretion. According to video footage, Axelsen took 4 seconds for this serve. In the past, he sometimes took even longer. A badminton commentator from Danish media TV2 pointed out that Axelsen’s serving time has reached its limit, and he has been skirting the rules for a long time. The Badminton World Federation has long wanted to crack down on such serving behavior, and the referee’s decision was clearly a warning to Axelsen.