Source: Sipa USA/SOPA Images
[Saba Sports News] With the Paris Olympics set to open in less than 40 days, top contenders in various events are starting to feel the heat. Among them is Viktor Axelsen, the world’s second-ranked badminton men’s singles player. Recently, Axelsen shared on his social media that he relieves stress by practicing Chinese characters. This revelation sparked humor among fans, some of whom joked that they relieve stress by playing badminton. Others quipped that Axelsen had reached “Level 10 Chinese” and could recite jingles and ancient poems better than they could. It turns out that Axelsen came to Beijing to train in badminton when he was 13 years old. However, he struggled with communication with Chinese players, which left him with a sense of regret. Later, as the competitive pressure mounted, Axelsen took up learning Chinese under the advice of a Chinese coach. He found that the process helped him divert attention and relieve stress. Initially, Axelsen sought a teacher in Denmark to teach him Chinese characters, and later he connected with a teacher in Beijing through the internet for reading and speaking lessons. Soon, he was able to conduct interviews in basic Chinese, communicate with Chinese players, and even post on Weibo using Chinese characters. To further enhance his proficiency, Axelsen continued his studies and completed homework even during breaks between matches. He utilized odd moments like queuing and waiting for the bus to listen to Chinese podcasts. As his skills progressed, his teacher introduced him to idioms and classical Chinese. According to Axelsen, during his preparation for the Rio Olympics, he studied the famous works of Mencius, which provided him with great inspiration during stressful times.