Tokyo Olympics: Denmark's Axelsen takes badminton gold and royal call

Tokyo - Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard made Olympic history on Monday

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen received royal approval after winning badminton gold on Monday to break Asia's stranglehold, then warned he intends to reign over the sport for some time to come.

Axelsen beat China's defending champion Chen Long 21-15, 21-12 in the men's singles final, becoming the first non-Asian to claim the title since 1996.

The world number two sobbed in disbelief after Chen hit the final shot long, then regained his composure to take a courtside phone call from Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik.

"He just told me that it was amazing to see and he knows that I've worked really hard for this and big congrats," said Axelsen, who did not lose a single game in Tokyo.

"Obviously it means a lot to me."

Axelsen took control of the match early and never loosened his grip, constantly turning the screw to give world number six Chen few opportunities.

The Dane won bronze at the 2016 Rio Games -- losing to Chen in the semifinals -- and he said the experience made him "really hungry to do even better" in Tokyo.

He achieved that with a series of dominant performances, but warned he can still improve.

Transgender weightlifter makes history

Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard made Olympic history on Monday as the US team confirmed gymnastics star Simone Biles is to make a dramatic return to action after her well-publicised struggles with mental health issues.

On the track, Puerto Rico won a first ever athletics gold medal and Dutch runner Sifan Hassan emphatically completed the first part of an audacious bid for triple gold.

After a storm of publicity surrounding Hubbard's involvement as the first transgender woman at a Games, she failed to make a successful lift in the +87kg competition won by China's Li Wenwen.

Hubbard, 43, who was born male and competed as a man before transitioning to female in her 30s, was allowed to compete after meeting International Olympic Committee guidelines on testosterone for transgender athletes.

Her presence on the biggest stage has reignited debate about transgender athletes in women's sport.

Biles takes last chance

After pulling out of her first events with the "twisties", a disorientating mental block, Biles was included on the list of eight finalists for Tuesday's beam competition, her last chance to win gold at an Olympics she had been expected to dominate.

"We are so excited to confirm that you will see two US athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow - Suni Lee AND Simone Biles!! Can't wait to watch you both!" tweeted USA Gymnastics.

Biles came to Tokyo seeking five more gold medals to equal the Olympic all-time gymnastics record of nine, but her struggles have wrecked those plans.

Valarie Allman of the US won women’s discus throw gold with a 68.98-metre (226.3 ft) performance.

Germany’s Kristin Pudenz (66.86) took the silver silver and Cuba’s Yaime Perez (65.72) won bronze. India’s Kamalpreet Kaur (63.70) finished sixth.

Elsewhere on day 10 in Japan, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn claimed Puerto Rico's first athletics gold in Games history as she charged to victory in the 100m hurdles.

"For such a small country it gives little people hope," Camacho-Quinn said.

Camacho-Quinn, 24, who had set an Olympic record 12.26sec in the semifinals of the women's 100m hurdles, surged home to claim her first major title in 12.37sec.

Hassan's treble is on

Hassan had a day to remember -- she fell in her morning heat of the 1500m before picking herself up and winning the race. Barely 12 hours later she was back on the track and sprinting to victory to take her first gold of the Games in the 5,000m, winning in 14min 36.79sec.

The Ethiopian-born athlete is going for a unique triple of 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m -- but said the dream would have been over but for a reviving cup of coffee.

"I was so tired. Without coffee I would never be Olympic champion. I needed all the caffeine. I was so scared I wasn't going to do it," she said.

Defending 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah's bid for an unprecedented Olympic women's sprint "double-double" progressed as she advanced to the 200m final in a blistering 21.66sec.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, outgunned by her teammate in the 100m final, also went through.

The final will also involve Christine Mboma, an 18-year-old Namibian who is only running the distance because her high testosterone levels mean she is barred from the 400m under international rules. In Thompson-Herah's semifinal, Mboma finished second in a new world under-20 record of 21.97sec ahead of US champion Gabby Thomas who also qualified.

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya should have been competing in the 200m heats but instead was granted a humanitarian visa by Poland after her team tried to forcibly send her back to her authoritarian homeland for criticising the team's management.

Her husband Arseny Zdanevich told AFP he had also left Belarus.

Track cycling started with a bang as China clinched the first gold in the women's team sprint, setting a new world record in the process at the Izu Velodrome.

Megan Rapinoe's world champion US side crashed out to Canada in the semifinals of the women's football tournament, losing 1-0 to Jessie Fleming's second-half penalty.

"It sucks, obviously, you never want to lose," said former world player of the year Rapinoe.

The Canadians will face Sweden in the final after they beat Australia by a single goal.