IBM_March_2016

INTERNATIONAL 

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march | 2016 

ISSN 2050-7909 

UK £3.00 | € 4.50 | USA $ 5.50 

MAGAZINE 

INTERNATIONAL BADMINTON MAGAZINE 

www.isportgroup.com/InternationalBadmintonMagazine 

INTERNATIONALBADMINTONMAGAZINE March 2016 | 1 

www.isportgroup.com/InternationalBadmintonMagazine

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CONTENTS 

CONTENTS 

Front Cover: 

Viktor Axelsen 

INTERNATIONAL BADMINTON MAGAZINE 

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Raphael Sachetat 

Dominic Bliss 

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Bright Future For English Badminton 

05 Badminton England Chief Executive Adrian Christy explains why 

the New Year is especially exciting for English Badminton as the 

governing body looks forward to future growth and development 

of the sport 

Dubai BWF World Superseries Finals: 

An Indication of the Future? 

06 International Badminton Magazine looks back at the 

spectacular year-end BWF World Superseries Finals to try and 

predict what might happen in the coming year 

Imogen Bankier Retires To Pursue 

Business Career 

13 World Silver Medal winner Imogen Bankier announced her 

retirement from badminton at the end of 2015 to pursue a business 

career, admitting she no longer had the required motivation to 

compete at the highest level 

All To Play For In AJ Bell National 

Badminton League 

15 With one match-night remaining of this season’s AJ Bell National 

Badminton League (NBL) THERE’S still all to play for as teams race 

for the Play-Offs 

Moment In Time 

16 As part of its collection of some of the most memorable images 

from the sport, International Badminton Magazine presents the 

acrobatic Koreans, Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong – the most 

successful 2015 Men’s Doubles pairing with six BWF Superseries 

titles 

Badminton England 

18 Record Numbers expected in national schools event, make 

badminton happen and volunteer, follow Badminton England for 

all the latest news and offers and much more … 

Indonesian Badminton Legend Set For 

VIP Role at 2016 Yonex All England 

19 The countdown to the 2016 Olympic Games is well and truly on 

with less than 200 days to go until the world’s biggest sporting 

event begins 

Viktor Axelsen: The ‘Little Prince’ of 

Badminton 

21 Raphaël Sachetat looks at the blossoming career of Viktor 

Axelsen and explains why the 22-year-old Dane, with a raw talent 

and an outgoing personality, is one of Europe’s best chances to 

shine and secure a medal at this year’s Olympic Games 

World Rankings 

25 Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Mixed Doubles, Men’s Doubles and 

Women’s Doubles at a glance 

4 | March 2016 INTERNATIONALBADMINTONMAGAZINE 


By Badminton England Chief Executive 

Adrian Christy 

brightfuturefor 

englishBadminton 

As we welcome the New Year it is with 

real excitement that we can look forward 

to the future growth and development of 

English badminton. Over the past year 

we have been involved in a significant 

consultation exercise in which I have 

toured all around the country talking 

to dozens of County Badminton 

Associations, clubs, leagues, players, 

coaches and fans, to get their thoughts as 

we form our future strategy that will take 

us through to 2024 – and the next two 

Olympic cycles. 

It’s been a truly inspiring and enlightening 

experience and what has served as a 

great reminder from these meetings 

is the incredible passion and love for 

the sport that exists throughout the 

country. From our fantastic volunteers to 

county players, and the next emerging 

generation of talent, it is clear that there 

is an abundance of people who live and 

breathe our great sport, with a strong 

desire to see us ‘win’ across all levels of 

badminton, on and off the court. 

Grass Roots 

This passion is shared by Badminton 

England, and it is worth highlighting the 

continued investment we are making to 

grow the game at grass roots level over 

the next 12 months and beyond. 

We currently have around 6,000 players 

competing in our circuit and county 

competitions. We have re-launched 

our Senior County Championships 

tournament to make it more attractive to 

players who take part and also piloted a 

summer circuit competition last summer 

The National Junior League, a 

new competition to get more young 

people playing badminton that we 

piloted in 2015, will officially launch 

later this year 

that attracted nearly 1,000 entries in nine 

tournaments over two months. We will 

look at ways of expanding the summer 

circuits this year to get more people 

involved and make badminton a truly 

year-round sport. 

The National Junior League, a new 

competition to get more young people 

playing badminton that we piloted in 

2015, will officially launch later this year, 

while our hugely successful and thriving 

National Schools Competition started 

again in September, with over 35,000 

youngsters taking part. 

Our clubs are so important to us and 

many are doing great work in developing 

and growing their membership, with 

success stories up and down the country. 

For example Liskeard Junior Badminton 

Club was recently awarded Junior Club of 

the Year at the Cornwall Sports Awards, 

while Colne Badminton Club has had to 

set up a waiting list to help them manage 

the demand, such has been their success 

in attracting adults and juniors to play. 

I love learning of stories like this; these 

examples and many others have helped 

organised group and club activity among 

over-16s grow from 127,600 to 146,000 

players since the London 2012 Olympic 

Games – a great legacy for badminton. 

A big thank you to everyone who has 

helped make this possible, your efforts 

are much appreciated. 

A National Event 

Moving on to our major events and I hope 

that everyone who watched the English 

National Badminton Championships at 

the University of Derby’s new £10 million 

sports centre in February enjoyed it. 

You can read all the match reports and 

watch video of finals day on demand at 

badmintonengland.co.uk/nationals. 

Attention now turns to the YONEX All 

England Open Badminton Championships 

at Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena 

from 8-13 March, for which tickets are 

still available. It will be the first BWF 

Superseries event of 2016 and it would 

be remiss of me not to mention that the 

final badminton event of 2015 – the World 

Superseries Finals in Dubai – was won in 

amazing fashion by England’s Chris and 

Gabby Adcock. 

We are keeping our fingers crossed that 

they can repeat the feat at the YONEX All 

England on the #RoadtoRio and I know 

they would love your support! 

INTERNATIONALBADMINTONMAGAZINE March 2016 | 05 | www.isportgroup.com/InternationalBadmintonMagazine

Dubai BWF World SuperSeries Finals: 


DubaiBWFWorldSuperSeriesFinals: 

AnIndicationof 

theFuture? 

International Badminton Magazine looks back at the spectacular 

year-end BWF World Superseries Finals to try and predict what might 

happen in the coming year. 

Japanese Shine In Dubai As Olympic Race 

Intensifies 

Nozomi Okuhara and Kento Momota proved that Japan has 

definitely become one of the best badminton nations when 

they scooped the Singles titles in Dubai’s Superseries Finals at 

the end of December. They will be strong contenders for Rio’s 

Olympics, which enters its last stage with a deadline on April 30. 

No one would have imagined that Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 

and Kento Momota would scoop both of the Singles titles in 

the season finale in Dubai where the best eight players in each 

category were invited to the World Superseries Finals in the 

Hamdan Complex. 

After enjoying some of the local fun – the hydroplane for Tai Tzu 

Ying or a small run down on a sledge with the penguins in Dubai 

Mall for Lee Yong Dae - the best players on the planet had their 

eyes set on the one million prize money. 







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Chris and Gabrielle Adcock 

But events didn’t turn out the way the spectators, mainly Indian 

workers, had hoped: none of their favourite players, including 

Saina Nehwal, made it past the group stage. World Champion 

Carolina Marin, who was making her debut in this competition as 

she’d been injured last year, barely qualified for the semi-finals, 

but was beaten twice by Nozomi Okuhara, the 20-year-old everfighting 

Japanese player. The latter then beat Wang Yihan in an 

amazing final, finishing the event in tears of joy. 

Kento Momota showed tremendous control in the group stages 

as well as the semi-final against Jan Ø Jorgensen and again in 

the final against Viktor Axelsen, who played below the level he 

would have hoped. A year and a half after Japan had entered 

history by scooping the Thomas Cup, the Men’s Team World 

Championships, their players once again put their marks on the 

badminton circuit. 

Only One Title For China 

That was not the only surprise as the Mixed Doubles competition 

saw England’s duo of Chris and Gabrielle Adcock win Gold, along 

with a cheque for US$42,000. 

The couple had not won any Superseries during 2015 but peaked 

at exactly the right time in Dubai, edging Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun 

and Kim Ha Na in the final. China’s top seeds Zhang and Zhao 

had to withdraw due to Zhao’s injury, which may have helped 

Mohammad Ahsan 

and Hendra Setiawan 



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Chen Long made 

the equivalent of 1.5 

per cent of what Novak 

Djokovic won in prize 

money during 2015 

and matched the total 

earnings of Nikoloz 

Basilashvili of Georgia, 

who is number 119 on 

the ATP circuit 

Chen Long 





the English, but the Adcock’s still showed some impressive form. 

China did scoop a title in the Women’s Doubles with the sisters 

Luo Ying and Luo Yu playing a very solid tournament. In spite of 

a loss in the group stage, they regrouped impressively to beat 

Denmark’s Pedersen and Juhl in the final. 

In the Men’s Doubles, the reigning World Champions Mohammad 

Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan performed their usual combination 

of hard smashes from Ahsan and amazing net play from his 

taller partner, ending the year on a high, after a 13-21 21-14 21-14 

win over China’s Hong Wei and Chai Biao, beating en-route to 

the title the favourites Lee/Yoo in the semi-final. 

Chen Long: 2015 Top Earner 

The Superseries finals officially put an end to the year, even if 

some players went on to compete in various leagues, primarily in 

Malaysia and China, or the invitational Copenhagen Masters. 

2015 saw a lot of new names on top of the podiums, but also 

a clear hegemony of Chen Long and Carolina Marin, who 

both scooped five Superseries titles along with their World 

Championship titles. It comes as no surprise to see them both 

at the top the annual chart for top prize-money earners for the 

year, which was published by Badzine.net. 

Chen beat Lee Chong Wei’s previous record by US$6,000 at 

US$298,413 while the second top earner Carolina Marin made 

US$226,508. 

Close to US$10 million were distributed throughout the year 

in all BWF sanctioned tournaments and the top five Chinese 

players took home ten per cent of that total sum, which is slowly 

increasing but not yet matching tennis. Chen Long made the 

equivalent of 1.5 per cent of what Novak Djokovic won in prize 

money during 2015 and matched the total earnings of Nikoloz 

Basilashvili of Georgia, who is number 119 on the ATP circuit. 

Olympic Race 

There are only a few weeks to go before the curtain closes on the 

final list for Rio. 

On 5 May, 38 Singles players and the top 16 Doubles pairs will 

qualify. If some players are already assured of a place they will be 

eager to get a good ranking as seeding will play a key role for the 

final medal hunt. Chen Long leads the race on the ‘dummy list’ 

published by the BWF, but Lin Dan is still within reach. 

There is however no guarantee that the double Olympic Champion will 

go to Rio – the Chinese officials may decide to swap his spot with a lowerranked 

compatriot still in the Chinese stable. Lin is now independent, like 

Tian Houwei, if the latter performs well before the Olympics. 

Other players lower down in the world rankings will have to juggle 

with crazy schedules in order to gain crucial points in time – and 

enter tournaments in places they’d never expected to visit during 

their badminton careers. 



Carolina Marin 

The leading tournament this spring will be the Yonex All England 

at the Barclaycard Arena in March. The event will be twice as 

important this year as it is one of the last major events before 

the qualification period ends with a large number of points up 

for grabs. 

The Yonex All England is also traditionally seen as a dress 

rehearsal for the Olympics. It was there in 2012 that the 

world discovered Li Xuerui, who came from nowhere to win in 

Birmingham before grabbing London 2012 Gold that summer. 

The European Individual Championships held in France in April, 

will also be one of the last deciding tournaments for Olympic 

points, with Denmark under pressure to deliver, and more and 

more nations claiming their share of glory - Spain with Marin, 

who looks unbeatable on the old continent, and also France 

which will play on home ground with Peter Gade as its new 

Performance Director. 

England meanwhile will certainly have its word to say about 

medals, in the Mixed Doubles and for Rajiv Ouseph in the Men’s 

Singles as well. 

There is however no guarantee that the double 

Olympic Champion Lin Dan will go to Rio with Chinese 

officials deciding to swap his spot with a lower-ranked 

compatriot still in the Chinese stable

Imogen Bankier Retires 

To Pursue Business Career 

ImogenBankier 

RetiresToPursue 

BusinessCareer 

World Silver Medal winner Imogen Bankier announced her retirement 

from badminton at the end of 2015 to pursue a business career, 

admitting she no longer had the required motivation to compete at the 

highest level. 

The 28 year-old Scot leaves the sport to help establish a 

Paris branch of The Whisky Shop, set up by her father Ian, the 

chairman of Celtic Football Club and Executive Chairman of 

Glenkeir Whiskies Ltd. 

“It is not a decision I’ve taken lightly,” admitted Bankier. 

“I’ve taken almost a full year to contemplate while I’ve played a 

little bit and trained a little bit.” 

“I achieved so much early on and I feel like I’ve got to the stage 

where there’s nothing left that is really driving me forward. 

“It is such a hard lifestyle to maintain when you are not 100 per 

cent motivated and, when you have done it for more than ten 

years, it takes its toll. 

“I felt it was a good time to call it a day and move on to 

something new.” 

With English partner Chris Adcock, Bankier won silver in the 

Mixed Doubles at the 2011 World Championships, defeating four 

seeds before losing to Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, the World 

No.1 pair, in the final. 

The pair followed that with bronze at the European 

Championships the following year, before Bankier split from 

the Great Britain programme after a first-round defeat at the 

London 2012 Olympics, saying she did not believe it would help 

her qualify for Rio in 2016. 

Bankier teamed up with Robert Blair to win a bronze medal at 

the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow before taking a 

sabbatical from the sport and announcing she would not try to 

qualify for the Olympics because of difficulties over finding a 

new partner. 

“I’ve achieved many of the goals I set out to achieve when I 

was ten years old and decided I wanted to go down the path of 

playing badminton,” said Bankier. 

Bankier admitted the World Championships silver medal was her 

career high. 

“It was a euphoric week, really fantastic, out of the blue,” 

admitted arguably Scotland’s most successful player of the 

modern era. 

“It was absolutely incredible and I will always remember that 

week as being the highlight of my badminton career. 

“I think also the Commonwealth Games, the timing of it, the 

moment I shared with Robert, who was my long-standing 

partner. 

“To win a Commonwealth medal in my home city of Glasgow was 

incredibly special.” 

Bankier added that leaving the sport now gives her a chance to 

“start afresh in a brand new career”, adding: “I knew I had other 

ambitions and things I wanted to do and achieve and explore 

while I’m still young and not in my late 30s.” 

I’ve achieved many of the goals I set out to achieve 

when I was ten years old and decided I wanted to go down 

the path of playing badminton 

Imogen Bankier 



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With one match-night remaining of this 

season’s AJ Bell National Badminton 

League (NBL) it’s still all to play for as 

teams race for the Play-Offs. 

alltoplayfor 

inajbellnbl 

The badminton rule book has once again 

been ripped up for the second season 

of the AJ Bell NBL, which will culminate 

with the Championship Finals on 8 May 

at the Barclaycard Arena, home of the 

YONEX All England Open Badminton 

Championships. 

In front of the Sky Sports cameras, the 

AJ Bell NBL Finals Day in Birmingham will 

see four teams compete in the Play-Offs 

– one year after Team Derby lifted the 

inaugural title. 

With one Monday evening AJ Bell NBL 

match-night left to run on 21 March, those 

four spots are still very much up for grabs 

as the game-changing league once again 

goes down to the wire. 

The AJ Bell NBL’s rejigging of the 

rules has seen shortened scoring, no 

changeovers, time outs and tie-breaks, 

with each fixture finishing inside a twoand-a-half-hour 

window. 

The exclusive PowerPlay double points 

rally – with its pink shuttlecock and 

pulsating sound effects – remains a big 

talking point this season, and with the 

shortened-scoring format, teams have 

learned that they have to come out firing 

from point one. 

Perhaps the best exponents of the AJ 

Bell NBL format in this successful second 

season has been Loughborough Sport, 

with doubles specialist Lauren Smith 

admitting that their “purists” team, 

marshalled by head coach Andy Wood, 

has been one of the key factors. 

After a stuttering start last year, 

Loughborough Sport reached NBL 

Finals Day, ousting table-toppers Surrey 

Smashers 5-0 in the semi-final before just 

falling short against Team Derby in the 

final. This season they have been tabletoppers. 

“There is a future in the team and we 

aren’t pulling people in who will then go 

off,” Smith said. “There’s loyalty in the 

players and that shows you are going 

to have players who want to win for the 

team.” 

Smith admits that Loughborough became 

a rejuvenated squad as the regular 

season took shape and now England’s 

doubles star wants to see the NBL keep 

on growing in its second year. 

She said: “We learnt from every single 

match last season. We had a fresh mind 

going into the games. We want to share 

the knowledge with the new players.” 

Summer moves have also helped shape 

Birmingham Lions. Toby Penty, after a 

switch from MK Badminton, has captained 

a strong-looking Lions side, aided by 

Fontaine Chapman in the women’s singles. 

Defending champions Team Derby, who 

have included 15-year-old rising star Grace 

King in their squad, will be anxiously 

looking over their shoulders as they aim 

to cement a Finals Day berth. 

It’s still all to play for in the AJ Bell NBL. 

Tickets are available now for match-night 

6, and tickets for the championship finals 

will be available from March. 

For all the latest information go to 

nationalbadmintonleague.co.uk/tickets. 

html. 



moment in time: lee yong dae 

and yoo yeon seong 



moment in time: lee yong dae 

and yoo yeon seong 

Momentintime 

As part of its collection of some of the most memorable images 

from the sport, International Badminton Magazine presents 

the acrobatic Koreans Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong – 

the most successful 2015 Men’s Doubles pairing with six BWF 

Superseries titles. 



ecordnumbers 

Expectedin 

national 

schoolsevent 

Badminton England is anticipating record 

entries for its long running flagship 

initiative in 2016 - the National Schools 

Badminton Championships. 

A tournament to crown England’s top 

school badminton teams has been hosted 

annually since 1972 but numbers on court 

have grown significantly in the past 10 

years from 2,200 players to over 32,500 

in 6,400 school teams last season. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly records were set 

in 2012 as Olympic fever swept the nation 

with the London 2012 legacy to ‘inspire a 

generation’ being played out on court. 

Now, with another Olympics just around 

the corner, record numbers are expected 

after teaming up with the multi-sport 

School Games to further broaden the 

appeal of the Championships. 

With new counties signed up to play, 

new schools putting together teams and 

a brand new partner Babolat on board, 

the 2016 Championships could break the 

40,000 mark for the first time ever. 

It is also expected that the tournament 

will see its 250,000th player get on court 

since entry numbers were reported. 

With four levels of competition and a 

team game format that covers players 

of all ability from ages 10 to 16, the 

Championships are enjoyed by one in 

every three secondary and middle schools 

in England. 

Make 

badminton 

happen and 

volunteer 

Our sport relies on thousands of people 

who give up their time throughout 

the year at their local club or county, 

organising tournaments, line judging, 

umpiring or supporting our major 

events. 

Whatever your skills and no matter how 

much time you can commit, there is a 

volunteering role for you to give back to 

the sport and make badminton happen. 

It is a statistic that puts it as one of 

Europe’s largest, free-to-enter school 

sport tournaments. 

County and regional champions are 

crowned throughout the spring with 

the England’s best 36 teams competing 

for the national title at a Grand Finals 

Weekend in April. 

Fittingly, in Olympic year, that 

Championship finale is set for the National 

Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes – home 

of the GB badminton squad, from which 

Team GB stars will qualify for Rio. 

Aged under 18 and love 

badminton? 

Search Racketheads on Facebook for 

badminton content to like and share with 

people just like you or visit 

badmintonengland.co.uk/racketheads. 

As the driving force behind our sport, 

volunteers are always needed for a 

wide variety of roles, giving people the 

chance for new experiences at a local, 

national and international level. 

It really doesn’t matter how much time 

you can give or what skills you can 

offer, there are so many volunteering 

opportunities available. 

You can sign-up to find out about 

the latest volunteering opportunities, 

including at National Badminton League 

(NBL) fixtures at 

badmintonengland.co.uk/volunteers. 

Follow 

Badminton 

England for 

all the latest 

news and 

offers 

Make sure you stay up-to-date 

with all the latest badminton 

news, information and offers from 

Badminton England on social media. 

Twitter - Follow @BadmintonEnglnd, 

@YonexAllEngland and @NBL_official. 

Facebook - Like Badminton England’s 

page. 

YouTube – Search ‘Badminton 

England’ and ‘Yonex All England’ and 

subscribe to receive the latest videos. 

LinkedIn – Search and follow 

Badminton England. 

Instagram – Follow 

‘officialbadmintonengland’. 

You can also join our free Fan Club at 

badmintonengland.co.uk/fanclub. 



IndonesianBadmintonlegendsetfor 

VIProleat YONEXAllEngland2016 

The countdown to the 2016 Olympic Games is well and truly on with 

less than 200 days to go until the world’s biggest sporting event begins. 

Badminton qualification for the Games runs until 1 May and the 

world’s best will be battling it out for precious qualification points 

on the #RoadtoRio at the world’s biggest tournaments, and 

they don’t come any bigger than the YONEX All England Open 

Badminton Championships 2016. 

The YONEX All England is the oldest badminton tournament in 

the world and the first MetLife BWF Superseries Premier event of 

the year. 

All the world’s best will be playing at Birmingham’s Barclaycard 

Arena from 8-13 March when some fantastic rivalries, which 

have been the hallmark of great YONEX All England and Olympic 

Games over the years, will be resumed, including the great Lin 

Dan and Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei. 

Guest speaker 

History shows that success at the YONEX All England is often 

replicated at the Olympics, and one man who knows all about 

winning both in the same year is Rexy Mainaky, who has been 

confirmed as the special guest speaker for this year’s hospitality 

events. 

The Indonesian men’s doubles legend will be talking to fans 20 

years on about his fantastic Olympic gold and YONEX All England 

title wins in 1996 with then doubles partner Ricky Subagja. 

Rexy, renowned for a powerful attacking game that excited 

crowds during a near ten-year career, will be at the Barclaycard 

Arena in Birmingham for the hospitality events taking place on 

Saturday 12 March and Sunday 13 March. 

The Q&A session with Rexy, hosted by Sky Sports News presenter 

David Garrido, will be part of a luxury hospitality package 

giving fans a touch of extra class to their YONEX All England 

experience. 

Rexy said: “I’m delighted to be attending next year’s YONEX 

All England as the guest speaker for the hospitality events and 

I’m looking forward to returning to the most historic badminton 

event in the world. 

“2016 marks 20 years since I won both the YONEX All England in 

Birmingham and gold at the Olympics in Atlanta, and I’m excited 

to see who will make their mark at this year’s event ahead of Rio 

in the summer.” 

1996 was not Rexy’s only Olympic success story. After his 

retirement from playing, Rexy moved into coaching and worked 

with England’s elite squad when Nathan Robertson and Gail 

Emms won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics. 

If you’re interested in meeting Rexy or would like to know more 

about the hospitality packages at the YONEX All England, visit 

allenglandbadminton.com/hospitality. 

Tickets for the championships are still available and start from 

£5 for children. Go to allenglandbadminton.com/tickets/info. 



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Viktor Axelsen: 

The ‘Little Prince’ of Badminton 

viktoraxelsen: 

the”littleprince” 

ofbadminton 

Viktor Axelsen is one of Europe’s best chances to 

shine and secure a medal at this year’s Olympic 

Games. The 22-year-old Dane is a raw talent with an 

outgoing personality. 

By Raphaël Sachetat 

Viktor Axelsen is a young man who likes 

to do things differently. He is probably 

the first ever athlete to invite foreign 

reporters into his childhood house to 

share souvenirs with them – he did so 

during the Denmark Open last fall, when 

media from Japan, Malaysia, and China 

were welcomed with a private tour of 

the house he grew up in. He was also the 

first European badminton player to scoop 

a Singles Gold Medal in a World Junior 

Championships. 

His differences were revealed way 

back when he was one of the most 

precocious players that Denmark has 

ever produced. 





I’ve beaten good players like Lin Dan, but I need to 

stay calm in tricky situations. There is still a lot of room for 

improvement in my game but I am quite satisfied with the 

way things are going right now 

Born in the city of Odense on January 4 1994, he was 

introduced to badminton very early on. “My dad used to play on 

Fridays so I joined him when I was six and then I started going 

more and more. 

“The hall was just five minutes from my home so I spent a lot 

time there – it was like my second home. By the time I was eight 

badminton was a real passion and I started playing with older 

kids. I was a little guy then but I loved to practice, to train hard 

to get better and to learn new things. 

“My mom told me that when I was ten I was already planning to 

be a badminton professional player, even if I didn’t really know 

what it meant,” he recalls with a smile. 

His parents divorced when he was eight, but badminton was all 

he wanted to do, participating in many competitions. 

“Of course it was tough when my parents separated, but they 

dealt with it very well and I could spend time with either one of 

our parents with my sister, and they still talked to each other. 

“My dad was the one driving me around to tournaments, and my 

sister joined us. She didn’t play as much but she enjoyed being 

with us”. 

Viktor is good. So good that he won the National titles in every 

single category of age until he turned 15 and started attracting 

sponsors. “That was the time where it got more serious for me”, 

he explained. 

After winning his title as a best junior in Denmark he entered 

a competition that would change his life: the World Junior 

Championships in Cape Town in 2010. 

Learning The Hard Way 

“Winning the World Juniors was probably one of the best 

memories on court for me. I had some attention before, but 

afterwards it was way more and I was suddenly watched by a 

lot of people. In a way I felt the pressure but when I look back, I 

think I took some benefits from it and I feel that I really matured 

during this period. 

“I was the first official winner from Europe in Singles - Thomas 





Learning Chinese 

helps me focus on 

something other than 

badminton and it requires 

a lot of hard work, but it’s 

good. I listen to Chinese in 

my car when I drive and I 

have a private teacher for 

online lessons three of four 

times a week 

Stuer-Lauridsen had won it the year before it became official. It 

was big, but I tried to take the pressure in a positive way.” 

Viktor took one more crown on the junior circuit – the European 

title in 2011 - before moving to the BWF World Tour. 

“I slowly made my way on the senior tour. It was difficult because 

of the difference in physical abilities. Matches were longer and 

tougher, and shuttles were always coming back even if I had quite 

a strong attacking game. I needed to strengthen myself.” 

Then came a difficult time for the young Dane: he left his 

hometown to join the Danish National Training Center in 

Brondby, on the outskirts of Copenhagen. “This was the 

toughest time for me, being away from home, sometimes lonely, 

with results which were far from my expectations. Maybe I was 

too harsh on myself,” he added. 

Eventually, better results came his way as Viktor, then 18, began 

playing in Grand Prix tournaments and even Superseries, where 

he reached the main draws and started winning matches. 

His first major breakthrough came at the end of 2012 when 

he made it to the final of the French Open in Paris, losing to 

Malaysia’s Daren Liew. 

He clinched lower ranked tournaments – in his home Denmark 

International (International challenge) in 2013, then the Dutch 

Open (GP) in 2013 and the Swiss Open in 2014 (GP Gold). 

Since then, his world ranking steadily improved until he made it 

into the top ten. “2015 was a good year for me,” he said, “I felt 

that I’d improved and gained a lot of experience. I’ve beaten good 

players like Lin Dan, but I need to stay calm in tricky situations. 

There is still a lot of room for improvement in my game but I am 

quite satisfied with the way things are going right now.” 

Glass Half Full 

As always, Viktor Axelsen keeps his mind on the positives. “I do 

try to look on the bright side, seeing the glass as half full rather 

than half empty,” he added. “I am often asked whether I regret 

spending my childhood playing badminton but I actually think I 

was very lucky to be able to have all these experiences, to travel 

and meet people from all over the world. 

“I always try to stay positive and sometimes I get a bit frustrated 

when I can’t, but I’m working on that.” 

Viktor’s main hobby is learning Chinese. “It helps me focus on 

something other than badminton and it requires a lot of hard 

work, but it’s good. I listen to Chinese in my car when I drive and 

I have a private teacher for online lessons three of four times a 

week. 

“It helps me relax, but I also wanted to do something special, 

something different. On the plus note, it might attract Chinese 

sponsors too.” 

This young man knows what he wants and has ambitions, but 

also stays grounded in spite of his growing status as a major 

star in his country. 

“My parents always taught me to keep my feet on the ground, 

so I try to remain humble. Proud, but humble. I feel that it is 

important to remain yourself. I’ve seen people change when they 

become famous or successful but I want to remain as someone 

easy to talk to. 

“Of course I now have to be more strict about some things - I 

can’t spend two hours signing autographs before a match - but I 

want to stay the same guy I have always been.” 

He describes himself as open minded and mature. “But I can be 

aggressive when I set myself a goal – I will give it 110 per cent 

to achieve it. I may look calm on the outside, but there is fire 

inside,” he warned. 

It’s a fire that burns for the charity work he undertakes when he 

does have some rare free time. 

“I became involved with Hospital Clowns in Denmark and 

Solibad. Lately, I met children who live on a giant dump and take 

badminton to try to get out of their daily environment during 

the World Junior Championships in Jakarta. That was a real eye 

opener for me”. 

Mind Set On Rio 

His target? The Olympic Games later this year. He said: “I have 

shown that I could beat all the top players, so now it’s looking 

interesting, but the most important thing for me is to focus on 

improving. Always!” 

If Viktor continues to improve he is most likely to win his first 

World Superseries title shortly and break his sequence of losing 

in the final, as he did in Dubai in December, to become the first 

Dane since Poul-Erik Hoyer in 1996 to scoop a Gold Medal in the 

Olympic Games. 



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