Axelsen Motivated To Defend Olympic Gold In Paris

Badminton player Viktor Axelsen is the defending champion of the Olympics (Instagram/@victoraxelsen).

JAKARTA The world number one badminton player from Denmark, Viktor Axelsen, wants to defend the Olympic gold medal in Paris this year.

Defending Olympic champions who got a total of seven 2023 season titles despite struggling with injuries said he would struggle to get his best condition in July 2024.

"Looking back to the last three years, the only period in which I can really prepare myself and train without any minor injuries or illness was ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and after the Olympics in 2021," Axelsen was quoted as saying by The Star.

Axelsen has been the most prominent badminton player in recent seasons. He will start the start of the season by trying to get a third straight title at the Malaysia Open on January 9-14, 2024.

To be able to return to glory at the Malaysia Open, Axelsen must be ready to face the possibility of a tough test from the players.

Call it Shi Yuqi, Li Shifeng who is the defending champion of All England, world number two from Japan, Kodai Naraoka, and the Indonesian duo, Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting.

Axelsen said that his goal this year is to get as many high-quality trainings as possible, but with a balanced approach in preparation for the Olympics.

"To be honest, I haven't really reached its peak since the Tokyo Olympics. So, my goal is to do whatever I can to repeat the same thing in Paris," he said.

At the Malaysia Open, Axelsen will face a difficult opening match against the 2021 world champion from Singapore, Loh Kean Yew.

Then Yuqi, Anthony, and Jonathan are the other leading players who are in the top half of the chart with Axelsen.

Those names are currently still curious to stop the 29-year-old badminton player's dominance.