Viktor Axelsen spoke to the international media after his victory.
On being the Olympic champion:
- I think you can say I've been at my absolute best. When you win the Olympic finals like this in straight games against Chen Long, you can say that at least you've been really, really close to your absolute best. I'm so happy.
On his opponent:
- Obviously, I respect Chen Long a lot and he came over to my side of the court and told me that I deserved it and my performance here has been great. I said: “thank you so much”. He has been a big inspiration to me and he asked me if we could exchange shirts and we did.
On what's next:
- I don't know. I still need to take all of this in. This is the biggest achievement for a badminton player. This means the world to me. I feel not complete but really calm and happy.
On who he was talking to on the phone before the interview:
- The Crown Prince of Denmark. Would you believe it? He just told me that it was amazing to see. That is a big congratulations and it means a lot to me.