For Thai netizens last night, Viktor Axelsen was just a tall Danish badminton athlete who dashed the hopes of Thai fans and Thai badminton star Kunlavut Vitidsarn for an Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles final.
Nonetheless, the Thai community readily accepted Axelsen’s victory over Kunlavut, who earned a silver medal after being defeated in two straight sets, 21-11 and 21-11 on Monday night.
Their focus was, without doubt, was on Kunlavut, the first Thai badminton player to reach the Olympic finals and to win a medal.
Kunlavut stole their hearts, not only because of his sportsmanship and talent, but also due to his friendly character.
This morning, however, Axelsen became the talk of the town for two reasons.
In his interview after the match, he praised Kunlavut as being talented and hardworking, saying, “He was a good match. He will be a champ in the future for sure.”
His humble character also surprised and was admired by many.
The second reason for the buzz was his fluency in Chinese. In an interview with the China Global Television Network, based in Beijing, a few days before the match, Axelsen spoke Mandarin fluently and was very modest.
The clip of this interview, which has just emerged, was widely shared and people have been surprised by his skill.
When asked why he decided to learn Chinese, Axelsen said, “I think China is a very interesting country and I believe the Chinese players are really strong, so I think I can learn from them.”
He also mentioned that badminton is a very popular sport in China and that he believes that speaking Chinese might bring him more opportunities, such as sponsorships and jobs.
“I could learn a lot about how Chinese players train, their perspectives on badminton and their training methods,” he said.
Some Thai-Chinese netizens commented that his Chinese was like that of a native speaker, and others felt that he spoke Chinese better than they did, making them feel a little embarrassed.
Judging by the reactions, Axelsen may now gain a fan base here in Thailand as well.
by Marisa Chimprabha
Photo: AFP
