Paris, France, August 5, 2024: Thailand has its first medal of Paris 2024 – a silver for Kunlavut Vitidsarn in badminton men’s singles.
But this silver was a million miles from gold, as the eighth-seeded Thai was completely outclassed by Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, seeded two.
Thailand’s 2023 world champion never got in the game as the lanky Dane won 21-11, 21-11 in just 52 minutes with a devastating display at La Chapelle Arena on Monday.
Axelsen, 30, defended his gold medal from Tokyo 2020 and now has three Olympic medals in all, as he won bronze at Rio 2016.
The 1.94-metre Dane is a remarkable athlete, combining game strategy with speed and dexterity. His height propels him to steepling power smashes, yet his reach low down at the front of the court enables him to keep the rallies alive and move his opponent into position to apply the coup de grace.
Kunlavut, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable from the first minute and made too many unforced errors as Axelsen piled on the pressure. Only in a couple of rallies did the Thai impose himself and stand toe-to-toe with the Dane, but Axelsen quickly regained his dominance to bully Kunlavut into submission.
The few Thai flags in the crowd were out-numbered by the red and white Danish dynamite, and loud and proud chants of “Vik-tor” and “Den-mark” rang around the stadium as the inevitable victory grew ever closer.
Kunlavut said that Axelsen had just played too well for him on the day and that it was difficult to play against him.
"Viktor was able to cover the court. I wanted to attack him more because I couldn't kill him with the smashes. I was under pressure, so I made some easy mistakes. Viktor is very tall. I tried to make him run, but he was in control."
He said his first Olympic experience was “OK” because he had played in the final.
Axelsen described the 23-year-old Thai as “an amazingly talented player”, adding: “He was world junior champion three times – crazy. We will see much, much more from him.”
Having matched Chinese great Lin Dan’s two Olympic gold medals, at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, Axelsen was asked if he was now on this level. “Lin Dan is the GOAT (greatest of all time) for me,” he replied. “In my eyes he stands as the best ever.”
BRONZE FOR MALAYSIA
*In the men’s singles bronze medal match, Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia defeated India’s Sen Lakshya 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 to collect his country’s second badminton bronze of Paris 2024.
Lee commented: "A lot has happened this year. I wasn't even sure if I would qualify for the Olympics. But here I am, a bronze medal, and I am very proud of how I did, even though it's only a bronze medal. I told myself to not give up. I've come this far.
"Even though this is only a bronze medal, I will come back stronger for LA and I will get that gold medal."
Sen, who was the latest Indian athlete to finish fourth here in Paris and just miss a medal, said: “I couldn’t really give my best. He started getting a good momentum and then pressure started building. It was hard to control the rallies.”