Danish gold medalist impresses with his Chinese fluency

Denmark’s two-time Olympic gold medalist in badminton Viktor Axelsen has surprised many Chinese social media users with his fluency in Chinese during an interview with Hong Kong media. The 30-year-old athlete revealed to CCTV in May that he began learning Chinese with a personal tutor in 2014.

Flexing his Chinese: Axelsen, who is known by his Chinese name “An Sai Long,” showcased his Chinese speaking skills during an interview with Hong Kong TVB after defeating Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men’s singles badminton finals at the Paris Olympics on Monday, earning his second gold medal. His command of the language garnered positive reactions from Chinese speakers commenting under the network’s post. One comment read, “Your Mandarin is actually better than that of most Hong Kong people,” while another said, “Not only is he humble in victory, but he can also speak fluent Mandarin. This champion is truly surprising.”
Beating stress: In a Douyin post on August 6, Axelsen shared how he uses Chinese calligraphy as a form of stress relief during his downtime from training, saying, “I found this book at the airport… which allows me to learn and practice writing. So, I told myself that maybe I will start learning how to write, and it can also be a good way for me to unwind when resting.” He previously told Olympics.com that he initially picked up the language as a joke, believing it could help him improve his badminton skills. He said, “The biggest thing for me has been to be able to speak with a lot of different players, especially Chinese players. Know how they do stuff.”

【巴黎奧運2024】賽後訪問丹麥羽毛球選手安賽龍奪金之路原來佢普通話好叻 (現場獨家訪問片段)

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Posted by TVB on Monday, August 5, 2024

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