Source: REUTERS/Ann Wang
[Saba Sports News] Recently, Danish badminton player Viktor Axelson conducted an interview with CGTN entirely in Chinese and even responded perfectly to Chinese jokes. In the video, the CGTN Europe reporter praised Viktor Axelson for speaking Chinese well, and Axelson humbly replied, “Not at all, you speak better than me!” The reporter also replied, “No, you speak better!” Some fans commented that these two foreigners not only conducted the entire interview in Chinese but also started exchanging their learning experiences. The essence of Chinese politeness and affirmation is well learned by them. In fact, as early as the 2016 Rio Olympics, when Axelson was not yet the number one men’s singles badminton player, he conducted an interview in Chinese with CCTV. His fluent responses earned him praise from fans as being “fluent in Chinese.” It turns out that when Axelson was thirteen years old, he went to Beijing for badminton training but had difficulty communicating with Chinese players. Upon the suggestion of a Chinese coach, Axelson began learning Chinese. In order to improve his Chinese language skills, Axelson put in a lot of effort, attending classes and doing homework even during competitions. He used fragmented time, such as queuing and waiting for transportation, to listen to Chinese podcasts. He also frequently interacted with fans on Chinese social media platforms. Nowadays, on holidays, Axelsen often posts blessing videos on Chinese social media. During the high school and college entrance examination periods, he even records videos to encourage students.