Gold-medalist Viktor Axelsen becomes second shuttler with this Olympic feat
Denmark's shuttler Viktor Axelsen claimed the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He dominated Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men's singles badminton final on August 5 and registered a 21-11, 21-11 victory. This was Axelsen's second successive Olympic gold in the men's singles event as he prevailed at the 2020 Tokyo Games as well. Here we look at the records Axelsen scripted.
How Axelsen fared at Paris Games
Axelsen didn't drop a single game at the 2024 Paris Olympics (men's singles). He won all three of his Group P matches, beating Prince Dahal, Misha Zilberman, and Nhat Nguyen. Axelsen overcame Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in the quarter-final. The Danish shuttler then beat Sen in the semi-finals (22-20, 21-14). This marked the only instance of Axelsen losing 20 games in a match.
His campaign in the 2020 event
Axelsen dominated the 2020 event as well, having not dropped a single set. He kick-started his campaign with a win over Taiwanese Wang Tzu-wei. He then got the better of China's Shi Yuqi and Guatemalan Kevin Cordón in the quarter-final and semi-final, respectively. He won gold after beating defending champion Chen Long in straight games (21-15, 21-12).
Bronze in 2016
The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games marked Axelsen's Olympic debut. He recorded comfortable wins over Ireland's Scott Evans and Great Britain's Rajiv Ouseph in the round of 16 and quarter-final matches. However, eventual gold medalist Chen Long of China beat him 21-14, 21-15 in the semi-final. Nevertheless, Axelsen then defeated Chinese Lin Dan 21-15, 12-21, 21-17 in the bronze medal game.
Axelsen joins Lin Dan
Notably, Axelsen became just the second shuttler after China's Lin Dan to accomplish multiple Olympic golds in the men's singles event. The latter claimed victories in the 2008 and 2012 event. Meanwhile, China's Chen Jin (1 gold, 1 silver, and two bronze) and Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei (3 silver, 1 bronze) are the only shuttlers with more Olympic medals than Axelsen (men's singles).
Other notable achievements of Axelsen
Besides winning two Olympic golds, Axelsen has also been crowned the World Champion twice. He won the 2017 and 2022 World Championships. The star shuttler also won the 2016 Thomas Cup with Denmark. In 2010, Axelsen won the World Junior Championships after beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final. He became the only non-Asian singles player to win the title at that time.
