After half a year without a victory, Viktor Axelsen finally raised his fist once again on the badminton court after a dramatic comeback.

Viktor's current state
After his official return at last week’s LI-NING Hong Kong Open 2025, expectations were kept low — by Viktor himself. He emphasized that his main goal was to play without pain, rather than to chase results. However, his mindset shifted slightly after a disappointing loss to Kodai Naraoka in Hong Kong. Speaking to Danish media, he made it clear that he was not interested in “sitting around doing nothing” if it meant losing in the early rounds of tournaments. For Viktor, winning was key.

The match
Taking on Chinese player Wang Zheng Xing in front of his home crowd, Axelsen had a tough time adjusting to Wang's control of the net, and the great confidence in his play. Wang was leading throughout the match, and was looking to win as the score was standing 16-9 in the second game. However, two quick points including a bold challenge from Viktor against a wrong call at the back-line seemed to turn the momentum. All of a sudden, Viktor was playing comfortably, with great confidence, and was using deceptive tactics against Wang to outplay him.

One thing led to another, and suddenly the double-gold medalist looked vintage, a sharp contrast to the injured Axelsen we saw at the All England and in Hong Kong last week.

After turning the second game around from 9-16 to 21-17, it felt like only a matter of time. The momentum had shifted, and everyone in attendance could sense the new energy coming from Axelsen and his coach Peter Gade, who supported him throughout the match. The deciding game was one-sided, with Axelsen dominating to seal it 21-11.

European Champion awaits tomorrow
Tomorrow, an even bigger challenge could be on the horizon. If Alex Lanier overcomes Chinese Taipei’s Chia Hao Lee today, he will face Axelsen in the round of 16. It would be a highly anticipated clash, as the two have only met twice before: first at the 2022 European Championships, where Axelsen won, and then at the Denmark Open 2024, where Lanier advanced after Axelsen had to withdraw due to sickness.

Seeing the new European Champion Alex Lanier facing former European Champion and Olympic gold-medalist Viktor Axelsen is deeply interesting for European badminton enthusiasts, witnessing the top talent from different generations clashing against each other.