Tokyo Olympics: Viktor Axelsen thanks his ‘inspiration’ Chen Long after beating Chinese star to badminton gold
- Danish No 4 seed secures 2-0 victory in men’s singles final, and admits ‘I think you can say I’ve been at my absolute best’
- Chen falls short in effort to emulate compatriot Lin Dan – who won in Beijing and London – with back-to-back Games golds
Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen beat China’s Chen Long to win the men’s singles badminton final at the Musashino Forest Sports Park Plaza on Monday night, ending the Chinese star’s hopes of back-to-back golds.
Axelsen is only the second non-Asian winner of the title, after fellow Dane Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen at Atlanta 1996, and the first non-Asian to win more than one Games medal.
“When I won the last point I couldn’t think, I couldn’t feel anything, I could only feel a big rush of adrenaline, of happiness, that all the hard work is worth it,” the 27-year-old said. “This is the biggest dream of mine coming true, I simply can’t believe it.”
“I can’t really describe my feelings. This is the biggest achievement of my career so to have this around my neck is the most awesome feeling ever.”