Danish ace Viktor Axelsen on Thursday credited his nation’s strong badminton club system for his success after entering the quarter-finals of the India Open.
The 25-year-old Axelsen outplayed Suppanyu Avihingsanon of Thailand 21-11, 21-9 to underline his favorite’s tag in the Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 500 tournament.
Axelsen has made giant strides in the sport after single-handedly breaking Asia’s stranglehold on men’s badminton when he became world No. 1 in 2017.
“We have had a long history of good players. We really have a strong club system in Denmark,” Axelsen, currently ranked fourth, told reporters after his second-round win. “We have a lot of good coaches and the young players like me got in pretty early and got to play with the best players.”
Denmark has had a rich history of badminton success since the sport arrived in the country in the 1920s.
The nation of fewer than 6 million people not only boasts Axelsen, but has also produced some of the best doubles players.
Axelsen remained the crowd favorite at Indira Gandhi Stadium.
Although stands were largely empty, a group of fans chanted his name throughout the second-round encounter.
“I always love my name in the stands. It was great, so thanks for all the support that came today,” Axelsen said. “Of course I would like them to cheer for me, but I’d rather play a filled stadium where one is against me than an empty stadium, but today was nice.”
Axelsen’s compatriot Jan O Jorgensen had a forgettable day after losing to India’s H.S. Prannoy 19-21, 22-20, 17-21 in a 1 hour, 7 minutes.
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