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Reigning Olympic champion and world no. 1 shuttler Viktor Axelsen is confident that as a more experienced player, he will enter the Paris Olympics 2024 with a 'big advantage' compared to his outing in Tokyo.
The two-time Olympian Viktor Axelsen secured a gold medal in the men's singles at the Tokyo Olympics, defeating China's Chen Long 21-15, 21-12 in the final. Earlier, he secured a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, getting the better of China's Lin Dan in the bronze medal game by 15-21, 21-10, 21-17.
“This time, I come in with even more experience than last time. And I think that’s a big advantage to have going into an Olympic Games because it is the biggest sporting event in the world. So it's going to be a great experience again to play an Olympics on European soil and it's going to be special,” Viktor Axelsen told BWF in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Furthermore, Viktor stated he was fortunate to share the court alongside legendary players like Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long. He also felt proud to be on top of the rankings for so many years.
“I've been really fortunate to come up at a time when there are so many legendary players and a great time for the world of badminton I would say I've been able to compete against these amazing athletes and that has given me a lot of great experience,” he added.
“For me to be in a position now where I actually have a realistic chance of doing well in my third Olympics it's something that makes me really proud because consistency and being on top for so many years is definitely not easy,” Viktor stated.
“It’s really hard to pick four players” - Viktor Axelsen
Notably, a total of 70 athletes will qualify for the singles events through the BWF's Race to Paris Olympic Qualification Rankings (OQR) - 35 in the men's and 35 in the women's events.
There will be a lot of competition in the men’s singles at the Paris Olympics 2024 and it would be interesting to watch how Viktor Axelsen fares. He felt that it would be tough to predict the medallists in the singles category.
“The men's singles right now is in a position where there are actually many players who can do really well at the Olympics and it's really hard to pick four players who you would say they would definitely grab a medal,” he said.
Most recently in the Malaysia Open 2024, Axelsen moved to the semi-finals, defeating Loh Kean Yew, Lee Cheuk Yiu, and Ng Ka Long, respectively. However, he bowed out of the campaign after losing to Shi Yuqi in the semis and failed to defend his title.
