Viktor Axelsen

Viktor Axelsen is a Danish badminton player born on 4th January 1994. He is a native of Odense in Denmark. Viktor has been representing Denmark internationally since 2009 and was ranked world no.1 in September 2017. As of February 2021, he is being ranked no.2 in the world.

Background:

Viktor Axelsen was born to Henrik Axelsen and Gitte Axelsen. His father ran a small advertising agency in the hometown of Odense before becoming his son’s full-time manager, while his mother runs cosmetics and fashion clothing businesses.

Viktor was introduced to badminton at the age of 6 by his father, Henrik. He joined the Odense badminton club, where he received professional training and pursued the sport seriously. At the age of 8, he began to play badminton competitively. In 2004, he was named Player of the Year by the badminton club.

At the age of 16, Viktor joined the senior national team and represented Denmark in several senior international tournaments.

Viktor is engaged to fellow shuttler Natalia Koch Rohde and they have a child together born in 2020.

Rise to Glory:

Viktor Axelsen's career breakthrough came in 2006 after winning the Boys’ Singles and Doubles titles at the National Junior Badminton Championships. In 2009, he won the first international junior title by triumphing the German Junior, followed by a Gold medal in the European U-17 Badminton Championships in Medvode, Slovenia. That year, he debuted in his senior international tournament at the Denmark Open.

In 2010, Viktor won his first International Challenge series title at Cyprus International. The following year, he was crowned as Junior European Champion and a Bronze medal in Mixed Doubles at the European Badminton Championships in Vantaa, Finland. Viktor Axelson, alongside his Denmark men’s team, has won 5 consecutive titles in 2012, 2014,2016, 2018, and 2018 at the European Men’s Team Badminton Championships.

In 2013, Viktor with his Denmark mixed team won the Bronze medal at the Sudirman Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has also won 4 consecutive titles (2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021) and a Silver (2013) at the European Mixed Team Badminton Championships.

Major Achievements:

Viktor Axelsen's first major accomplishment was in 2010 when he won the Boys’ Singles title at the World Junior Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico, and became the first European badminton player to do so. In 2011, he couldn’t defend his World Junior Championships title as he ended up as runner-up in Taipei, Chinese Taipei.

In 2012, Viktor reached the first Superseries final at the French Open, where he lost to Malaysia's Liew Daren Miew. Later, he went on to play 5 Superseries finals before winning the maiden Superseries title at the Dubai World Superseries Finals in 2016. Viktor had won two Bronze medals (2012 and 2018) and a Gold medal (2016) with the Denmark men’s team in the Thomas Cup.

In 2014, Viktor triumphed his first Grand Prix Gold title at the Swiss Open by defeating Chinese shuttler Tian Houwei. That year, in August, he won the Bronze medal at the World Badminton Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. The following year, he reached the first Superseries final on the Indian circuit at India Open in New Delhi.

In 2016, Viktor Axelsen competed in his debut Olympics at the Rio Olympics and won the Bronze medal by defeating 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lin Dan. He was crowned as European Champion twice in 2016 and 2018 at the European Badminton Championships. In 2017, in August, he emerged as the World Champion at the World Badminton Championships by defeating 5-time World Champion Lin Dan and became the 5th Danish shuttler to win the World Championships title.

In 2018, Viktor won the first World Tour title at the Malaysia Masters by defeating Japan’s Kento Momota. Between 2018 and 2021, he triumphed 8 World Tour titles, including the All England Open in 2020. In 2021, he competed at the All England Open as defending champion and reached the final, where he lost to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia.

Viktor Axelsen qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and is seeded No.3 in the Men’s Singles.