Paris Olympics, badminton: Viktor Axelsen clinches second successive gold medal
What's the story
Denmark's shuttler Viktor Axelsen has clinched the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Axelsen claimed a comfortable 21-11, 21-11 victory over Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men's singles badminton final on August 5. The Danish player secured his second back-to-back Olympic gold medal after winning one at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Notably, Axelsen beat India's Lakshya Sen in the semi-finals in Paris.
Medal
Axelsen defends his Olympic gold
As mentioned, Axelsen successfully defends his Olympics gold medal with another win in Paris. He won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games after beating defending champion Chen Long in straight games. Notably, the Danish player didn't drop a game in the entire tournament. Axelsen claimed his first Olympic medal after securing silver at the 2016 Rio Games.
Information
A look at other medalists
Kunlavut, who lost to Axelsen in a one-sided final, settles for the silver medal. Meanwhile, Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia won the bronze medal after beating Sen in the third-place match. He defeated Sen 12-21, 21-16, 21-11.
Record
BWF: Axelsen 7-1 Kunlavut
Axelsen won his seventh match against Thailand's Kunlavut on the BWF Tour. He now has a 7-1 lead in the BWF head-to-head series. Notably, Kunlavut won the last encounter between the two players, at the 2023 India Open. He won 20-22, 21-10, 12-21. The Danish player prevailed in each of the previous six matches.
Journey
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.
Achievements
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.