At the end of a tight 22-20, 21-14 triumph in the 2024 Olympics men’s singles semi-final against India’s Lakshya Sen, a vastly relieved defending champion Viktor Axelsen warmly embraced his opponent at the net and declared to the media, “This was the toughest match I have played at this Olympics. Four years from now, he [Sen] will be the favourite to win the gold!”

The turning point came when Sen, sitting atop three game-points at 20-17 in the opening stanza was intimidated by the huge 6’4” figure looming on the other side of the net, and produced a low service that clipped the net and fell a few inches short of the service line. That was all the encouragement that Axelsen needed to play the next four points flawlessly and pocket the all-important first game.