GEORGE TOWN: With badminton tournaments no longer on his mind, two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen is now able to fully enjoy food – including Penang’s hawker fare, which he describes as “very delicious”.
“After the match (on Monday), we chose some non-spicy dishes, including char kuey teow, which were actually very delicious.
“I hope next time I’ll have the chance to try even more food,” he said in Mandarin when responding to a fan’s question during the “Celebrating the Legacy of Viktor Axelsen” event in Tanjung Tokong yesterday.
The 32-year-old Danish star retired from competitive badminton last month after a prolonged battle with a chronic back injury.
During his career, Axelsen won virtually every major title in badminton, including two Olympic gold medals, two world championships, two All England titles, the Thomas Cup and four European Championships.
He also captured more than 30 Open titles and spent 183 weeks as world No. 1.
Widely recognised for his fluent Mandarin, Axelsen said he is still practising the language through weekly classes because of his frequent work and travel in Asia, especially in China.
“Language is like a muscle. If you don’t use it, you will lose it.
“I still have weekly classes and I also use Mandarin when communicating with my team in China.
“I probably use Mandarin the same amount, or maybe even more than when I was playing.
“I really enjoy learning languages. It opens up your world, and it’s something very valuable.
“Maybe in the future I will learn another new language,” he said.
Asked whether he would consider coaching Malaysia’s men’s singles players in future, Axelsen laughed and replied: “Is that a job offer?”
He said he was not considering coaching at the moment, although he did not rule it out in the future.
“I think Malaysia needs to have men’s singles players back at the top of the world rankings. I hope they will do well,” he said.
On possible changes to badminton, Axelsen said he would prioritise improving the tournament calendar and event quality rather than altering the scoring system if he were allowed to lead the Badminton World Federation one day.
“I would try to look at the travelling schedule and I would also try to create more big events.
“I would focus on improving the quality of the events and invest more into the tournaments and the entire system,” he added.
Asked for advice for young athletes hoping to advance in their careers, Axelsen urged them to focus on daily improvement rather than worrying too much about the future.
“If you win daily, then you’ll also win in the long run.
“One small win can lead to bigger wins,” he said.
