
NEW DELHI: 'V for Viktor, V for victory'. In a jam-packed KD Jadhav Indoor Hall here, a lone spectator could be heard chanting those words in the second game of the men's singles final of the India Open between Viktor Axelsen and Lee Cheuk Ki. Axelsen, considered to be sport's gold standard, was operating with plenty of gusto, bringing the crowd alive in the process.
In the end, Axelsen did what Axelsen has been doing for many moons now, notching up the nth victory of his career. This one was special for the Dane, who had performed below his usual standards, in the last four months or so. Moreover, it was also a sweet revenge of sorts. The Danish veteran was facing Cheuk Yiu, a shuttler from Hong Kong who had knocked him out in the very first round of the Malaysia Open barely a week or so back.
Winning is in his DNA. After getting over the line (the final score read 21-16, 21-8 in the Dane's favour) against Cheuk Yiu on Sunday, Axelsen was visibly animated and celebrated with the fans.
"This title feels very, very special to me. I've struggled a little bit after the Olympics (Paris) with injuries, training and my motivation has been lacking a little bit. But this week, I felt like a competitor out there. I dug deep in every single match and found a solution. To be winning here means a lot. It gives me a lot of motivation," the former World No 1 told reporters.
On the day, Axelsen was patient in his approach in the opening stanza and Cheuk Yiu was getting some joy initially. But Axelsen gradually started to find his rhythm and with some sensible badminton, induced his opponent into making some unforced errors. That became a recurring theme.
"I was struggling especially at the start with Lee's game. But my legs started coming and I started moving better and my defense started to be better and my offense also improved. Then from there, I felt more and more confident," Axelsen assessed.
After the change of ends, Axelsen, clearly high on confidence after grabbing the first game, started employing his trademark smashes before eventually going on to close out the contest without expending much sweat. "In the second game, I started to feel like my attack was sitting pretty well and I felt more and more comfortable."
For well over a decade, the 31-year-old has been a habitual winner, having won at every level on the BWF World Tour. And now, this latest success could potentially spur him to add to his rich CV. He said that he's yet to regain his best form.
"I'm far from my best at the moment actually. So that is a very, very good sign that I'm winning here. I haven't really had a good training block for a long time. If I can structure together, like four weeks of proper training, then I feel like I can be in a better place and compete for the biggest titles."
In 2015, Axelsen had entered this tournament (it was a super series event then) as one of the rising stars to look out for. He had crossed paths with India's Kidambi Srikanth, just their second meeting then, in the final before ending up as a runner-up that year. Jan O Jorgensen, also part of the draw, was a more-acclaimed face to represent Denmark. Axelsen, who captured his third India Open crown, also touched upon his olden days, while trying to highlight his longevity.
"To be in a final here, win the title for the third time... and my first final being ten years ago and then, grabbing the title here in 2025, that proves that I've been very consistent over my career and that's something that I'm very, very proud of because it's definitely not easy with new players coming up all the time. So, yeah, I'm very, very happy about it."
With the insatiable hunger that he possesses, Axelsen could continue to make headlines in the weeks to come.