Viktor Axelsen

Viktor Axelsen
Axelsen at the 2018 Indonesia Masters
Personal information
CountryDenmark
Born (1994-01-04) 4 January 1994
Odense, Denmark
ResidenceDubai, United Arab Emirates[1]
Height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Years active2010–present
HandednessRight
CoachPeter Gade
Henrik Rohde
Men's singles
Career record572 wins, 160 losses
Highest ranking1 (28 September 2017)
Current ranking18 (5 August 2025)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Denmark
Olympic Games
2020 Tokyo Men's singles
2024 Paris Men's singles
2016 Rio de Janeiro Men's singles
World Championships
2017 Glasgow Men's singles
2022 Tokyo Men's singles
2014 Copenhagen Men's singles
Sudirman Cup
2013 Kuala Lumpur Mixed team
Thomas Cup
2016 Kunshan Men's team
2012 Wuhan Men's team
2018 Bangkok Men's team
2020 Aarhus Men's team
2022 Bangkok Men's team
European Games
2023 Kraków–Małopolska Men's singles
European Championships
2016 La Roche-sur-Yon Men's singles
2018 Huelva Men's singles
2022 Madrid Men's singles
2021 Kyiv Men's singles
2012 Karlskrona Men's singles
2014 Kazan Men's singles
2017 Kolding Men's singles
2024 Saarbrücken Men's singles
European Mixed Team Championships
2015 Leuven Mixed team
2017 Lubin Mixed team
2019 Copenhagen Mixed team
2021 Vantaa Mixed team
2023 Aire-sur-la-Lys Mixed team
2025 Baku Mixed team
2013 Moscow Mixed team
European Team Championships
2012 Amsterdam Men's team
2014 Basel Men's team
2016 Kazan Men's team
2018 Kazan Men's team
2020 Liévin Men's team
2024 Łódź Men's team
World Junior Championships
2010 Guadalajara Boys' singles
2011 Taipei Boys' singles
European Junior Championships
2011 Vantaa Boys' singles
2011 Vantaa Mixed team
BWF profile

Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish professional badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic Champion, two-time World Champion, and four-time European Champion. He has held the No. 1 BWF World Ranking in men's singles for a total of 183 weeks (as of August 2024).[2] Throughout his career, Axelsen has won every single major title in both team and individual events at least once (World Tour Super 1000 level or higher), except for Sudirman Cup (where his team won Bronze in 2013).[3]

Axelsen won the World Championships in 2017 and 2022, becoming the only non-Asian male player besides Thomas Lund to win the title twice. He is also the back-to-back reigning Olympic Champion, winning the gold medals in men's singles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics after his bronze medal in 2016 Rio Olympics, thereby becoming the most successful badminton men’s singles player in Olympic history.[4][5]

Axelsen has led Denmark team to win all European Mixed Team Championships since 2015 and all European Men's Team Championships since 2012. On individual levels, he won three European Championships titles in 2016, 2018, and 2022, and a gold medal at the European Games in 2023.[6] He also won the 2010 World Junior Championships, becoming the only non-Asian singles player to win the title.[7] Axelsen held the world number one position in men's singles for a total of 183 weeks, making it the third-longest reign in badminton history, trailing only Lee Chong Wei (398) and Lin Dan (211). He is the current recipient of the BWF Male Player of the Year award, having won the award three times since 2020.[8]

  1. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Olympic badminton champion Axelsen celebrates in Dubai". Gulf News. 17 August 2021. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Viktor Axelsen". BWF World Tour. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Viktor Axelsen by numbers: Records, titles, medals and stats of the Danish badminton star". olympics.com. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Men's Singles Results - Olympic badminton". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  5. ^ "VITIDSARN Kunlavut vs AXELSEN Viktor - Men's Singles Gold Medal Match Match MS161 - Badminton". Paris 2024 Olympics. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  6. ^ Leer Scharnberg, Martin (30 April 2022). "Axelsen vinder EM i rendyrket dansk finale" [Axelsen wins the EC in a purely Danish final] (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  7. ^ Sachetat, Raphaël (25 April 2010). "World Juniors – Axelsen creates history". Badzine. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Axelsen, Zheng and Huang Rewarded For Stellar Seasons". Badminton World Federation. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.