"Absolutely amazing" - Holger Rune lauds compatriot Viktor Axelsen after Dane's successful Olympic gold defense in men's badminton at Paris 2024
Denmark's Viktor Axelsen successfully defended his Olympic crown with a flawless performance over Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men's singles badminton final on Sunday night in the French capital. Compatriot Holger Rune joined the entire nation of Denmark in celebrating Axelsen's victory, which marked Denmark's first gold medal of the 2024 Olympics.
Axelsen entered the Olympics seeded second and was among the favorites to win gold. He breezed through his group without a fight. Another couple of impressive wins against Singapore's Loh Kean Yew and India's Lakshya Sen saw him book his spot in a second consecutive Olympic final.
Facing seventh seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the gold medal match, Axelsen seized control early, swiftly claiming the first set. He maintained his dominance in the second set, ultimately securing a comfortable 21-11, 21-11 victory in just 52 minutes.
Danish tennis starlet Rune was quick to laud Axelsen on his impressive title defense. Conversing in their native language, Rune lauded him for the amazing performance and for bringing home Denmark's first gold medal of the 2024 Summer Games.
"Huge big 🥇👑 absolutely amazing 🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰 congratulations," Rune wrote on X (translated from Danish).
Rune was due to make his Olympic debut this year but pulled out at the last minute, citing an ongoing wrist injury. He was scheduled to compete in the mixed doubles event with Caroline Wozniacki as well as the men's singles.
The 21-year-old was replaced in the main draw by Australia's Matthew Ebden, who went down to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the first round.
Holger Rune's 2024 Canadian Open R1 opponent
Thirteenth seed Holger Rune is slated to open his Canadian Open campaign against home favorite Milos Raonic in the first round on Tuesday, August 6. They will be up fourth on Court Central after Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Nicolas Jarry's encounter.
Raonic is coming off a first-round loss in both the singles and doubles events at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He lost a tight match against Germany's Dominik Koepfer that saw them battle it out in three incredibly close tie-breakers. Paired with Félix Auger-Aliassime in doubles, the duo suffered a first-round defeat against the American team of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. Marred by injuries this year, Raonic has a 6-5 match record. His best performances thus far have been quarterfinal appearances in Rotterdam and 's-Hertogenbosch.
Rune and Raonic haven't yet faced off in professional competition, and their first encounter could be an exciting one. The Dane enters the tie as the favorite, but there is no discounting a surprise from the big-serving Canadian in front of a packed home crowd.