Source: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
[Saba Sports News] The highly anticipated Olympic Games are scheduled for July. Danish badminton player Viktor Axelsen, currently ranked number one in the world in men’s singles, recently expressed his somewhat skeptical views on the Olympics during a media interview. Axelsen believes that any future accolades would be an additional reward and doesn’t hold much expectation for the Games. He stated, “In sports competitions, everyone has different opinions, but I don’t really mind. I’ll give my best on and off the court. Any titles I win in the future will be an extra reward.” As the most renowned men’s singles player in the world of badminton today, Axelsen’s rise to prominence has been remarkable. At the age of 16, in 2010, he became the first and only European player to win the World Youth Championship. At just 22 years old, he led the Danish team to victory in the Thomas Cup, making them the first European team to achieve this feat. He also won a bronze medal in his first Olympics by defeating Lin Dan at the Rio Olympics. In August 2017, Axelsen secured his first World Championship title and later became the top-ranked men’s singles player in October, breaking the three-Olympic cycle monopoly held by Asian players in this position.