Viktor Axelsen withdraws from Japan Open due to Olympics fatigue

Viktor Axelsen won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics in the men’s singles event.

Danish tennis star Viktor Axelsen has withdrawn from the 2024 Japan Open. The Dane made the announcement via his official X (formerly Twitter) account.

He stated that he would have loved to play in Japan. However, he won’t be able to play in the Super 750 tournament due to fatigue and exhaustion from the 2024 Paris Olympics. Viktor Axelsen won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics in the men’s singles event.

The Danish badminton star took down Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in straight games to win his second Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles event. Also, Axelsen didn’t drop a single game throughout his campaign in Paris. The Dane was drawn in Group L alongside Nepal’s Prince Dahal, Israel’s Misha Zilberman and Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen.

After topping the group, the second seed got a bye in the Round of 16. In the quarter-finals, he defeated 10th seed Loh Kean Yew. In the semi-finals, he recorded a 22-20, 21-14 win over India’s Lakshya Sen. Defeating Kunlavut Vitidsarn was also an easy deal for the Dane, as he stunned the Thai ace 21-11, 21-11 in the gold medal match.

With the title defence, Axelsen has become the only non-Asian player in history to win two badminton gold medals at the Olympics. However, he will miss the 2024 Japan Open due to fatigue. He wrote on X, “I would’ve loved to play in Japan next week, but I pushed my body and mind to the limit leading up to, during, and after the Olympics.

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He added, “Unfortunately, I’m unable to recover in time and will have to make the right decision for my health. Thank you all for your support and understanding. I will still be in Japan to see my Japanese fans, so I’ll see you there!”

The Japan Open is scheduled from August 20 to 25. On the Indian front, the likes of Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu, and HS Prannoy, along with doubles teams Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty and Treesa Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand, will also be missing the Japan Open 2024 Super 750 tournament.

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