july 17, 2021 8:00 am
Today, Saturday 17 July, the nine Danish players, who will be distributed across the five categories, will represent Denmark at the Olympic Games against Tokyo. Here we make you a little wiser about who it really is that should try to haul the finest metal home from Japan.
Viktor Axelsen playing his second Olympics in his career. In 2016, he participated for the first time and returned home with a bronze medal. At this Olympics, Viktor Axelsen stands, if possible, in an even stronger place, after he has shown extremely high class for the past long time. In January, he reached a milestone, after rounding 25 match victories in a row, until Anders Antonsen put an end to the streak in the final of the World Tour Finals. In other words, Viktor Axelsen attends the Olympics in top form and undoubtedly more motivated and goal-oriented than seen before. Viktor Axelsen is the fourth seed at the Olympics.
Alder: 27
Height: 195 cm
World Ranking: 2
Previous Olympic results: Bronze, 2016 – lost the semifinal to Chen Long and won the bronze match over Lin Dan.
Biggest results: Olympic bronze 2016, World Cup gold 2017, World Cup bronze 2014, All England title 2020, Thailand Open 2021 1 and 2, Thomas Cup gold 2016.
Anders Antonsen has shown extremely good pace lately. On paper, he is therefore also predicted for a medal at the Olympics, as he occupies a third place in both the world rankings and the Olympic rankings. Anders Antonsen won the Denmark Open in the autumn of 2020 and took his first Super 1000 title in January 2021, when he defeated Viktor Axelsen in the World Tour Finals final in Thailand. In other words, the 24-year-old from Aarhus is full of confidence, and he has also stated to the press that he is looking for Olympic gold in Tokyo.
Alder: 24
Height: 183 cm
World Ranking: 3
Previous Olympic results: Olympic debutant
Biggest results: World Cup silver 2019, European Championship gold 2021, European Games gold 2019, World Tour Finals title 2020, Denmark Open title 2020, Indonesia Masters title 2019
Mia Blichfeldt participates for the first time in his career in the Olympic Games. Blichfeldt has in recent years been through a rapid development with several great results as a result, but has also on several occasions been hit by tiring injuries. The prelude to the Olympics in the early spring had to hold the young women’s single from, among other things, the European Championships due to a knee injury. Before that, Mia Blichfeldt otherwise showed that she can play with the very best women singles in the world. At All England, she thus beat former Olympic medalist Saina Nehwal and played closely in three sets with former world champion Ratchanok Intanon.
Alder: 23
Height: 172
World Ranking: 12
Previous Olympic results: Olympic debutant
Biggest results: European Games gold in 2019, European Championship bronze 2018, Spain Masters title 2019, Thailand Open semi-final 2021
Mathias Christiansen / Alexandra Bøje was long unsure of qualifying for the Olympics. Nevertheless, it succeeded after a series of strong results over the past six months, and the pair are now facing their first Olympics to date. In April, they picked up a bronze medal at the European Championships not long after winning the Super 100 tournament Orléans Masters in March. Also in March, they defeated at the Swiss Open England’s strongest mixed double and were stumbling close to taking the title.
Alder: 27 / 21
Height: 186/173 cm
World Ranking: 17
Previous Olympic results: Olympic debutants
Biggest results: European Championship bronze 2021, Orléans Masters title 2021, Swiss Open second place 2021, SaarLorLux Open title 2020.
Kim Astrup / Anders Skaarup holds the flag high in the men’s doubles category for Denmark. The defending Danish champions and former China Open winners have been delivering fluctuating results for some time now. In March, however, they found games off the top shelf again when they took the title at the Super 300 tournament Swiss Open. We are crossing our fingers that they can maintain that momentum in Tokyo.
Alder: 29 / 32
Height: 185/189 cm
World Ranking: 12
Previous Olympic results: Debutants.
Biggest results: China Open title 2018, India Open second place 2018, Swiss Open title, Spain Masters title 2020, European Championship bronze 2021.
Sara Thygesen / Maiken Fruergaard just reached a new high point in their careers, before the corona pandemic, when they played in the final of the Indonesia Masters 2020 and beat several of the world’s strongest pairs along the way. In other words, they showed that they can beat any pair when they hit the top level, but that is also what they need to do to get ahead in Tokyo.
Alder: 30 / 26
Height: 172/169 cm
World Ranking: 16
Previous Olympic results: Olympic debutants
Biggest results: European Championship bronze 2016, 2018 and 2021, Indonesia Masters second place 2020, DM gold 2017, 2018 and 2020.
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