Viktor Axelsen is a men’s singles badminton player from Denmark. He is a gold medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, defeating Chen Long of China in the final round.
Axelsen’s career has been on a steep rise since 2021. He has returned to world number one in the BWF Rankings after being occupied by Kento Momota of Japan, one of his biggest rivals.
Throughout 2022 Axelsen has entered four BWF World Tour tournament finals and has won all of them. The four tournaments are the All England Open 2022 (Super 1000), Indonesia Open 2022 (Super 1000), Indonesia Masters 2022 (Super 500), and Malaysia Open 2022 (Super 750).
It seemed difficult for other players to be able to beat Axelsen at this time. So, why is Viktor Axelsen so hard to beat? Here are the possible reasons.
Axelsen has great talent and a strong physique
Viktor Axelsen has a great playing talent. He had been a formidable opponent for Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, the two badminton living legends.
Viktor Axelsen in action during Indonesia Masters 2018 badminton tournament. (Photo: Fauziananta, Wikimedia Commons)
His talent was recognized worldwide and nationwide. He was awarded Player of the Year (2021) by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Danish Sports Name of the Year (2017 and 2021) by the Danish government.
Looking at his current game, Viktor has great defence and attack. His physical condition is very supportive of playing the shuttle very well. This overwhelmed his opponents against Axelsen.
At his current age, Axelsen is at a mature stage as a world badminton player. He has a good record of following in the footsteps of previous world badminton legends.
Rich playing experiences
Viktor Axelsen has gone through hundreds of matches, many against the greats of their time like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei. The experience of playing with the two badminton legends above has definitely been one of the driving forces for Axelsen’s current career.
Positive family support
Even though his parents separated, Axelsen still received great support from his parents. Axelsen also received great support from his partner and his daughter, which became a big encouragement for Axelsen to continue to excel on the badminton world stage.
Highly committed
Without high commitment, Axelsen is unlikely to be who he is today. One of his commitments to achieving his dream of becoming a great badminton player is the hard training he goes through every day. The Olympic team has covered Axelsen to see how he builds his body and mind.
Currently, Axelsen does not want to be successful alone. He set up a training camp in Dubai and was followed by several players, including the 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew from Singapore. The camp was founded after he won the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medal.