via Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Badminton – Men’s Singles – Gold medal match – MFS – Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan – August 2, 2021. Viktor Axelsen of Denmark celebrates with his coach after winning the match against Chen Long of China. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
via Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Badminton – Men’s Singles – Gold medal match – MFS – Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan – August 2, 2021. Viktor Axelsen of Denmark celebrates with his coach after winning the match against Chen Long of China. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
The toughest athletes have shown their emotional side at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. In an intense badminton final match, Denmark’s Axelsen Viktor defeated the defending champion. Viktor couldn’t believe the moment and broke down in tears.
Axelsen triumphed over China’s defending champion Chen Long with a very strong lead. Subsequently, Axelsen was over the top of the world as he bettered his Rio Olympics 2016 bronze medal.
Denmark’s Viktor broke Asian dominance in badminton
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Since 1996, Asian countries have been dominating the racket sport. It has been tough for western countries to penetrate the finals of badminton. Denmark’s Viktor has broken that legacy.
As soon as the match was over, he went to hug his coach and couldn’t believe what he had achieved. While the pain and happiness of winning were visible, as the new Olympic champion couldn’t stop his tears.
An emotional #gold medal win for #DEN's Viktor Axelsen against #CHN's Chen Long 👏🥺
The Dane won 21-15, 21-12 in the men's singles #badminton final!#Tokyo2020 | #UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether | #BestOfTokyo pic.twitter.com/eMtGfAVCKV
— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) August 2, 2021
In the final match between Axelsen and Chen Long, Danish athlete had a strong lead throughout. With his calm and nerve-holding capacity, he dominated throughout the match against the Olympic champion by 21-15 and 21-12.
Viktor exchanged t-shirt with the Chen Long at Tokyo Olympics 2020
At the Rio Olympics 2016, badminton great China’s Lin Dan and Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei started a tradition of exchanging t-shirts. The Olympic legends started this tradition to showcase mutual respect for each other.
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At Tokyo Olympics 2020, Viktor Axelsen continued the Olympic tradition. Axelsen traded t-shirt with his opponent and silver medalist Chen Long. Emotions kept flooding for Denmark’s athlete as he exchanged t-shirt with his inspiration.
via Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Badminton – Men’s Singles – Gold medal match – MFS – Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan ? August 2, 2021. Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Chen Long of China exchange their jerseys after Axelsen won the match. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Notably, Viktor is a huge admirer of the Chinese culture and has great fluency in their language. It was no surprise that Chen Long and the Chinese People appreciated his success as he has a soft corner for the nation. Apparently, he also has given himself a Chinese name, “An Sai Long.”
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In the Chinese language ‘ long’ means a dragon, and the men’s single saw two people with the long surname. Hence, the fans called the men’s singles finals a ‘double dragon match.’ Viktor has opened up the path for other non-Asian countries in badminton after breaking the streak in Tokyo.
