COPENHAGEN: Denmark's Viktor Axelsen lost his world number one ranking in June after 131 weeks at the top, but the reigning Olympic badminton champion is dead set on defending his gold medal in Paris.
The 30-year-old, a towering figure at 1.94m (6ft 4in), says he "is slowly but surely" working his way back into form despite an ankle injury he picked up at the Singapore Open in late May.
"You can't think about injuries if you want to prepare well. I have good people around me and right now, my physical condition is good," he told reporters recently.
Such resilience is typical of Axelsen, who was given the nickname An Sai Long – 'calm competitive dragon' – by his teacher while studying Mandarin, a language he speaks fluently.
In a sport dominated by players from Asia – China's Shi Yuqi is the current number one – Axelsen and his compatriot Anders Antonsen, ranked fourth, are outliers.
Axelsen's success is a testament to his longevity.
Aged 16, he won the world junior championships in Mexico, becoming the first European to do so.
He has racked up an impressive list of achievements in the decade-plus since. In 2022, his 39-match winning streak shattered the previous record of 31 held by double Olympic champion Lin Dan.
"We play all the time. I had the benefit of going far in loads of tournaments, I train hard and I'm 30 years old, so it's clear that my body doesn't recover as if I was still 16," he said.
Axelsen, the world champion in 2017 and 2022, believes such wear and tear is the cause of his ankle issues.
"It's true Viktor has had some physical problems, even more than in the build-up to the last Olympic Games," Danish badminton official Jens Meibom told newspaper Berlingske.
"That's created a kind of uncertainty, but at the same time, I would also say he's displayed a very high level this spring. He'll be able to come back.
"Viktor is training well at the moment and he's not had any setbacks, so we're staying positive until the opposite happens."
Axelsen, who won bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio, has repeatedly said he is not considering retirement, with the chance to claim another title in the French capital supplying ample motivation.
"It's that prospect that makes me impatient," he told French sports daily L'Equipe.
The Dane is also attuned to the power of social media and its ability to help grow badminton's popularity, with one million followers on Instagram and both Weibo and Tiktok accounts.
"I don't take lightly the visibility that social networks offer me. It's a good opportunity to introduce my sport and make a name for myself as well," he said.