Nicolai Højgaard Aims to Lift Viktor Axelsen’s Stressful Olympics Burden as Denmark Struggles to Make a Mark at Paris

0-1-0! It’s not an emoji, nor is it a win-loss stat for the Ryder Cup. The figures represent the current medal tally of Denmark as the 2024 Paris Olympics get halfway through, as per the official table. But the Danish fans need not worry too much. Viktor Axelsen will be hoping to give his country another chance at getting a medal at the quadrennial event through the badminton semifinals. However, the athlete is not alone in fighting for his country’s honor. Enter the golfer, Nicolai Højgaard!

The Danish professional is currently tied at T4 with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama on the leaderboard after the third day of play at Le Golf National. And for a podium finish, Højgaard will have to best the field of golfers, especially Spain’s Jon Rahm, America’s Xander Schauffele, and Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood, all three of whom are currently placed above him.

The 23-year-old Højgaard placed himself in the fourth position owing to the score of 11-under overall that he carded by the third round’s play. He did so by registering figures of 70-70-62 while dishing out a total of 15 birdies, 7 of which came on a bogey-less flawless round of Saturday. That’s not all. The third day also witnessed an eagle at the par-5, 14th hole, all the while not increasing the number of bogeys, which had totaled six on Friday.

Nicolai Højgaard is, however, three strokes behind the two leaders, Rahm and Schauffele, the latter of whom won the gold medal in the Tokyo Games. His Danish colleague Axelsen, on the other hand, is also on the cusp of history as he faces India’s Lakshya Sen in the semi-finals of the men’s singles badminton event.

Regardless of the result of the semi-final match on Sunday, the No. 2 ranked athlete on the BWF  World Rankings is guaranteed a chance for a medal at the Paris Games. While a win will allow Axelsen to advance to the finale, where he can either win gold or silver, a loss will see him duking it out against the other losing semi-finalist for a bronze. So, hope is not all lost for Denmark, which boasts just a single silver medal in 2024.

Nicolai Højgaard in hopes of increasing Denmark’s medal tally

The country has, till now, in 2024, only been able to claim a single silver medal at the Paris Games. They did so at the Olympic dressage team event, which saw the Danish squad of three being bested by Germany (which finished just 0.12% ahead), who won the gold while shooting past Great Britain to clinch the silver. Nicolai Højgaard will look to increase the tally with a podium finish at Le Golf National, with some help from his brother, interestingly.

“I saw it all, how he handled things and how the course was playing,” said the Danish golfer on Saturday while alluding to the 2022 Cazoo Open de France at Le Golf National. The athlete’s twin brother, Rasmus Højgaard, had finished runner-up at the event, which saw Nicolai Højgaard himself finish T60. “It’s playing pretty similar. It was cool to see that I convinced myself to play a really good round today, and see myself hit good shots coming in after a couple of tough days.” Well, with such confidence in himself, the Danish fans would be able to ease their worries as the final day tees off. But will he be able to clinch a medal? Keep an eye out!