IBM_March_2016

Viktor Axelsen:
The ‘Little Prince’ of Badminton
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.
INTERNATIONALBADMINTONMAGAZINE March 2016 | 23
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