Denmark's Viktor Axelsen wins badminton men's singles gold, defending his Olympic title

PARIS (AP) — Viktor Axelsen is once again Olympic badminton champion.

The 30-year-old from Denmark defended his men’s singles title Monday by beating Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand for the gold medal. Axelsen defeated Vitidsarn 21-11, 21-11 in the final in just 52 minutes.

Axelsen celebrated by running around the court and waving the red-and-white Danish flag over his head. Fans in the stands chanted, “Viktor! Viktor!”

Axelsen went over to a young fan and handed over his racket while receiving a constant standing ovation from the crowd.

“This is an amazing achievement for him, the second time in a row as Olympic champion,” said Denmark King Frederik X. "It’s unbelievable. The way he mastered the match, this is something that makes us proud in Denmark, on behalf of badminton in Denmark — but also the entire country.”

Axelsen became the first European to win back-to-back badminton singles gold at the Olympics. Like in Tokyo three years ago, his medal in Paris is the only one earned by a European in the sport.

China won five badminton medals; two silvers and three bronze. South Korea, Japan and Malaysia had two apiece.

Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia beat Lakshya Sen of India for bronze in the men's competition. An Se-young of South Korea had a 21-13, 21-16 win over He Bingjiao of China for the women's singles title.

This story has been corrected from a previous version that had An Se-young beating He Bing Jiao for bronze. An Se-young defeated He Bingjiao for the women's singles gold medal.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen plays against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn during their men's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen plays against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn during their men's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (Hamad I Mohammed/Pool Photo via AP)

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen plays against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn during their men's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen plays against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn during their men's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen plays against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn during their men's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen celebrates after defeating Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn during their men's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Oilers are about a lot more than Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, something the Golden Knights learned the hard way.

For Edmonton to get through to the Western Conference final for the second year in a row, it took a goalie who was benched earlier in these NHL playoffs and a forward who wasn’t in the lineup until Monday.

Kasperi Kapanen scored on a scramble in front of the net at 7:14 of overtime, and the Oilers beat Vegas 1-0 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to advance out of the second round.

“Obviously, we win games with Leon and Connor leading the way,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “That’s an absolute given. We won some games where our goalie outperformed their goalie. Then there’s games where our depth guys came through and scored big goals. Hopefully, we’re only halfway through this, but we’re going to need contributions from everybody.”

The Oilers, who last season made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before losing in seven games to Florida, will play Dallas or Winnipeg in the next round. The Stars, who lead 3-1, will go for the series win Thursday night.

Kapanen’s goal backed up another shutout performance from goalie Stuart Skinner, who made 24 saves and drew several chants of “Stu! Stu!” from Oilers fans in the crowd. Skinner, who was benched two games into the playoffs, also blanked the Golden Knights in Game 4. This was his third start in a row in replacing the injured Calvin Pickard.

And Kapanen was a spectator the first nine games of the playoffs before finally getting his chance in Game 4. Given the other players on the roster, Kapanen said he understood why he was initially left out.

“The team was playing really well, so we weren't changing with the lineup, which is understandable," Kapanen said. “The most important thing is the team winning and now us advancing. I knew eventually I'd probably get a chance. Just being patient and being ready.”

Adin Hill made 29 saves for Vegas, which is out of the playoffs by the midway point for the second year in a row. The Golden Knights, who won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago, came into the playoffs as the Pacific Division champion and with the second-best record in the Western Conference.

“Any time you have a good team, you feel like you didn't finish what you set out to do,” Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “We've got a hell of a team. It's disappointing. It's a hard league to win. We knew that going in.”

Both teams also were involved in the two most recent scoreless playoff games to reach overtime. The Oilers lost to Winnipeg on May 21, 2021, five days after the Golden Knights were defeated by Minnesota.

Edmonton’s only 1-0 overtime playoff victory occurred in 1997 over the Dallas. Vegas has yet to win a postseason game by that score in OT.

The Golden Knights played without captain Mark Stone because of an upper-body injury that caused him to miss most of Game 3 on Saturday. He played in Game 4 on Monday, but was far from at full health.

Neither team scored through the first two periods, and prime scoring chances were at a premium. There were only five high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick, and the Golden Knights had four of them.

But each team had a grade-A chance early in the third period. Vegas’ Brett Howden whiffed on a tap-in after taking a fantastic pass from Jack Eichel, and shortly after Draistaitl failed to convert on a breakaway. McDavid had a chance on a 2-on-1 to end the game in regulation but was denied by Hill with 1:06 left.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vegas Golden Knights players react after losing to the Edmonton Oilers in overtime of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edmonton Oilers right wing Kasperi Kapanen, upper right, celebrates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during overtime of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edmonton Oilers right wing Kasperi Kapanen (42) scores against the Vegas Golden Knights during overtime of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) makes a save against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) and Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) battle for the puck during the second period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) blocks a shot by Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) during the third period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edmonton Oilers right wing Kasperi Kapanen (42) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during overtime of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edmonton Oilers right wing Kasperi Kapanen, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during overtime of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)