When you mention the names and Axelsen , you may not be very familiar with them. But if you talk about the young player who won the World Championships in the World Championships that ended early this morning, defeating the Chinese king Lin Dan in two straight sets, you may suddenly realize, "Ah, that Danish guy."
He can speak fluent Chinese, he can recite Mencius's "Born in Sorrow, Die in Peace", and after opening Weibo and WeChat, he is an authentic "China Hand".
He is the new men's singles champion of the Badminton World Championships. He is also a humorous boy who likes China and loves to speak Chinese tongue twisters.
△Viktor Axelsen, Chinese name Axelsen (Axelsen). Born on January 4, 1994 in Odense, Denmark, he is a Danish male badminton player. He is the men's singles bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2016 Badminton World Super League Dubai Finals champion, and the 2017 Glasgow Badminton World Championship men's singles champion.
In the men's singles final of the Glasgow Badminton World Championships that just ended on August 28, the 1994 Danish teenager Viktor Axelsen defeated the Chinese badminton king - "Super Dan" Lin Dan in straight sets, breaking Lin Dan's dream of six crowns. . When Axelsen won his first men's singles championship at the World Badminton Championships, he also ended the eight-year monopoly of Chinese players on the men's singles championship for nearly 12 years.
In the previous semi-finals, Axelsen had just defeated the 2016 Olympic badminton men's singles champion, Chen Long.
We have no way of knowing whether the 34-year-old Lin Dan seemed to see his fearless self when he saw this 24-year-old Danish guy standing on the court. But what is certain is that this 1994 boy who can speak fluent Chinese has successfully impacted the world of badminton as a rising star.
Lin Dan after the men's singles final
Axelsen was excited after winning the men's singles championship at the Badminton World Championships
A "China expert" boy in a small Danish town
Axelsen was born in Odense in 1994 and started learning badminton at the age of 6. At the age of 16, he became the first men's singles champion in European history to win the World Youth Championship. At the age of 22, he participated in the Olympics for the first time and won an Olympic medal. He is the only European face to advance to the top four men's singles in the Olympics.
In the arena, metabolism is always caught off guard. Axelsen's repeated impact on the veterans of the badminton world has made more people realize the huge potential hidden in this 24-year-old rising star.
The international badminton world has almost never seen a player as tall as Axelsen, but with a flexible and not sluggish style of play. He is tall and powerful, but his delicacy and flexibility in handling small techniques are no less than those of many top Asian players.
△ Axelsen vs. Lin Dan, a perfect smash
Unlike Andersen, who was welcomed back to his hometown by the torch parade ceremony in Odense in his later years, Axelsen will enjoy the public every time he sets a new record when he returns to Denmark. With stellar treatment, government awards, royal visits, and the favor of multinational brand sponsors, Odense has become the business card of Odense at such a young age.
In the small town where Axelsen was born
In Denmark, which is rated as the country with the highest happiness index in the world, life is as slow as grinding, so that even after two centuries, it has not been able to change the temperament of the small town Odense. The appearance, cobblestone floors, secluded and narrow streets, a row of low huts with red tile roofs and yellow walls... everything is still as quiet and simple as in Andersen's fairy tales.
Even in urban areas, there is no sound of traffic. The most popular means of transportation for office workers is bicycles. Unlike many urban residents who regard completing work plans as the meaning of survival, Danes prefer to spend more time on Spend time with your family, enjoy the exhibitions, or even lie on the lawn and soak up the sun.
However, this leisure cannot make Axelsen, who has been immersed in competitive sports for a long time, feel comfortable. He thinks that the Danes who go to work at 8 o'clock and get off work at 4 o'clock every day are "a bit lazy." From his schedule, you can see how demanding this young man is on himself.
6:00 Get up
7:00 Go to the arena
7:30 Warm up
8:00——10:00 Training
10:30 Massage therapy
2:00——4:00 Training
4:00——5:00 Physical training
Evening: One-and-a-half-hour Chinese online teaching
8:00-10:00 p.m.: Communication
The reason why most Chinese audiences have a favorable impression of Axelsen lies in his love for learning Chinese. Whether it is being interviewed by domestic media, answering questions fluently in Chinese, or reciting Mencius' famous poem "Born in sorrow, dying in peace" that is widely circulated on the Internet, all people can see the impact of "the second Fukuhara Ai" on China. Demonstrated interest.
China's retired badminton doubles star Cai Yun once commented in an interview that Axelsen is "very studious". In order to learn Chinese, when Axelsen meets Chinese athletes on the field, he will not only take the initiative to say hello, but also rush to create various opportunities to practice speaking. In addition to talking tongue twisters with Taiwanese player Zhou Tiancheng in the competition, he also volunteered to be Lin Dan's Chinese translator at an event.
△ Attended a business event with Lin Dan, Axelsen took the initiative to serve as Lin Dan’s translator
“China’s badminton is very strong. If you learn Chinese well, you can communicate with Chinese athletes. Chinese culture is also very interesting. Maybe doing business in China is also a good idea.” Not a bad idea."
In addition to Chinese athletes, Axelsen also hopes to get involved with Chinese fans. He has never concealed his ambition to become famous. He has not only opened all social networking sites including Weibo, WeChat public platforms, and INS. , update the content from time to time, interact with Chinese fans, and print the QR code on the jersey, intending to scan it anytime and anywhere to gain fans for myself.
△ Axelsen’s gift to readers of the weekly
Although this seems a bit "Sima Zhao's heart", Chinese fans bought it unusually, not only interacting with him on Weibo, but also giving him names similar to "Little Dragon" Crown Danish Cookies" and other nicknames, and also took the initiative to express his support for his brand.
In addition to his lovable appearance, this is inseparable from Axelsen's personal character. Different from China's impression of some foreign athletes, Axelsen always looks modest and polite, both in appearance and thinking. Chinese aesthetics.
Someone once asked him if he was named Axelsen because he wanted to defeat Chen Long? He responded seriously on WeChat, "Someone asked me if I wanted to defeat someone with this name? Of course not! If a name had such a magical effect, everyone wouldn't have to work hard..."
is like in As social media shows, during the conversation, Axelsen always thinks clearly and is well versed in the art of speaking.
laughed twice before answering any questions; he did not hesitate to praise anyone when he evaluated him; he shyly said "where, where" when faced with compliments; he couldn't hide his happiness when he heard that he had many fans in China. , "I'm very happy that so many people are pursuing me (Editor's note: I think they like me), I will work harder." Even though sometimes the Chinese answers are a bit unclear, the meaning is almost perfect.
The way the Danish dragon speaks
In the Rio Olympics, you seemed to cry when you won the bronze medal match?
Axelsen: I don’t know why I cry. The Olympics is a very important competition for all athletes. The pressure is very high and the training is very hard, so after winning the bronze medal, I feel that I can finally relax. , just can't control his feelings.
Before participating in the Olympics, did you ever think about defeating Lin Dan?
Axelsen: (laughing) I think Lin Dan is a very good athlete and he has a lot of experience, especially the Olympic experience, so when I played in the bronze medal game, I was a little nervous because it was my first time to participate in the Olympics. I was really happy to win against him. It felt like a dream come true, can you say that? like dream come true .
Are you a confident person?
Axelsen: Yes, I think athletes should be confident, but I also consider myself a realist.If I know that my opponent is stronger than me, if I want to win, I have to perform at my highest level. Therefore, it is not that I tell myself every time, I want to win, I want to win, but what I want to look at situation, who is the opponent.
I feel like you have a mentality of doing your best and obeying fate. Is this common among Danes?
Axelsen: Not all Danes have this kind of thinking, but it can be learned from your experience. In the past, if I lost the game, I would be really unhappy and disappointed. Now I know Losing is also part of an athlete's life. You have to learn from your failures so that you can play better next time.
You uploaded a video on the Internet reciting "Be born in happiness, die in sorrow". Can you understand the meaning of this sentence?
Axelsen: Of course, of course, this sentence is similar to sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat. It means that if you don't work hard, you won't make progress. I think as an athlete, you can learn a lot of things that you can't learn in school. You have a lot of ideas and a lot of pressure. You have to learn how to deal with these problems. These words can encourage you.
You seem to like these famous Chinese quotes?
Axelsen: There are many idols like this in China. I like to memorize them very much. At present, my favorite is "Sail against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat."
How long have you been learning Chinese? When you first come into contact with Chinese, what do you think is the biggest difficulty?
Axelsen: will be three years old in February next year. Wow, (laughing) there are many difficulties. There are a lot of Chinese words, and sometimes my four tones are not very standard. There are many, many words, and many words have different meanings. There are really a lot of things to learn.
Why is the Chinese name called "Axelon"?
Axelsen: An is taken from the pronunciation of AXELSEN. Sai is because I often compete, and dragon is because the teacher told me that the dragon is the symbol of the Chinese nation, and men should be like dragons, so it is called Axelsen.
Do you consider yourself a talented badminton player?
Axelsen: I have liked ball sports since I was a child. I have played basketball and football before, but my favorite is badminton. I like one person's sports and the feeling of one person controlling the results. I don't know if I have talent, but I like to study and train hard in every aspect to see how quickly I can improve my level, not only in badminton, but also in Chinese, or other aspects.
Some people say that people who are too tall do not have an advantage in badminton matches?
Axelsen: Many people have told me that being tall is not an advantage in men's singles. I can understand that, after all, there are not many tall men's singles players ranked high in the world. But just like some people say that Bolt 's height is not suitable for running 100 meters, but you can go and look at his results. It's not that I am Bolt in the badminton world, but being tall cannot be an excuse. I feel that where there is a will, there is a way, and as long as you decide to work hard, there is always something you can do.
There is a saying in China that a great athlete needs a great opponent to fulfill his destiny. In your mind, who is the biggest opponent?
Axelsen: There are many outstanding young athletes now, like Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei , we meet many outstanding athletes in every competition, but I think Chen Long is a very good athlete.
Comment on the characteristics of Lin Dan, Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei in the game respectively?
Axelsen: I think they are all very good and very respectable athletes. On the field, Chen Long is very physically fit, Lin Dan is technically great, and Lee Chong Wei is very fast and has a fierce attack. I still have a lot to learn and strive to become one of the best men's singles players in the world.
Text / Sour Sauce
Editor / Liu Miao
Photography / Ren Tao
(Some information comes from the Internet)
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