KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 shuttler Viktor Axelsen will be looking to strike fear into his opponents at the Paris Olympics.
Even though the Danish player failed to claim his third Malaysian Open title here at the Axiata Arena, he is confident he will get himself back to full form ahead of the Games later in July.
‘’I haven’t been feeling very good mentally and physically this week, and since my foot injury in October I have only had limited time to practise before coming here,” said Axelsen.
‘’But for the Olympics, I’m in a good place, I just won the World Tour Finals a few weeks ago, so give me a few months with proper practice and I think I’ll be really (a) scary (opponent) at the Olympics,’’ said Axelsen.
Axelsen lost in the semi-finals at the hands of China’s Shi Yuqi, who won the match 21-12, 19-21, 21-17 in 70 minutes, pushing top seed Axelsen to his limits.
Humble in victory and gracious in defeat, Axelsen commended his opponent’s tenacity during the game.
‘’Even though I always want to win, there was a rightful winner. There’s not much to say on that and full credit goes to Yuqi, I think he was the better player,” said the Olympic champion.
‘’I think the most you can ask from a player is to do the very best he can with what he has on that day and I did everything I could.
After enduring a slight injury to his knee during the semi-final match, Axelsen said he’s unsure if he would participate in the upcoming Indian Open this week.
“That is my goal, but I hit my knee pretty bad, so I have to figure out what’s up with that. Hopefully, it’s only a hit and we can take it from there,’’ said Axelsen.
