Viktor Axelsen’s retirement on Wednesday brings flashbacks of his epic battles against some of his biggest rivals, including Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan, Chen Long and Lee Zii Jia.
Stadium Astro recaps some of the Dane’s biggest victories over these four names throughout his career.
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Beating Lin Dan to win 2016 Olympic bronze
After Lee Chong Wei eliminated Lin Dan in the semi-finals of this Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Chinese great had to regroup and face off against a fresh-faced Axelsen for the bronze medal match play-off.
The odds were heavily stacked for a Lin Dan victory, and it seemed that way when the two-time Olympic gold medalist took the lead after winning the first game.
But the 22-year-old Dane refused to buckle, and stormed back to win the next two games for his first Olympic medal, ultimately announcing himself as a genuine force in the men’s singles.
Outclassing Chen Long to win the Tokyo Olympics
Axelsen had waited five years to avenge his 2016 Olympics semi-finals defeat against the reigning champion Chen Long.
The lanky Chinese had surprised everyone by reaching the final, after Covid-19 lockdown meant China did not send their shuttlers for international competitions and so Chen was presumed to have been short of competitive matches.
But despite defying the odds to reach the final, Chen found Axelsen in a class above.
The Dane won the final easily, beating Chen 21-15, 21-12 for his first Olympic gold.
Triumphant over Chong Wei to win two titles in 2017
In their 14 meetings over a seven-year period, Axelsen had only managed to overcome the Malaysian legend three times.
But significantly for Axelsen, he managed to beat Chong Wei in two big finals to claim silverwares back in 2017.
Axelsen scored his first big win over Chong Wei at the Japan Open final, which saw him win 21-14, 19-21, 21-14.
Then at the season finale Super Series Finals, Axelsen again got the better of the Malaysian in the final after coming from behind to win 19-21, 21-19, 21-15.
Claiming the Malaysia Masters crown after beating Zii Jia
Both these shuttlers were contenders for the 2024 Olympic gold medal, and so this Malaysia Masters final showdown served as the ideal preview a few months before.
Playing in front of his home crowd, Zii Jia had the extra boost and produced a fine second game to take the match into a decider.
But Axelsen is known to thrive under pressure, and he delivered a masterclass performance to beat the Malaysian 21-6, 20-22, 21-13 for the Super 500 title.
