Viktor Axelsen has been flying in 2022, and he has now been honored for that.
The International Badminton Federation (BWF) has thus named the Danish star as the best male player in 2022.
It happened as he attended a gala dinner on Monday ahead of the season finale, which kicks off in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, later this week.
It is the second year in a row that Viktor Axelsen has won the prestigious prize.
– Of course it’s great to win such a prize. After such a good year, I am happy to receive this recognition, because it has been a good year for me, and it gives me hope for the coming year.
– And then it’s a good start to the season finals and gives a lot of motivation, says Viktor Axelsen according to a press release from Badminton Denmark.
In 2022, Viktor Axelsen has won, among other things, the WC, EC and All England.
He snagged this year’s award ahead of Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew and Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia.
Last year, he grabbed the prize, which included results from 2020 and 2021, ahead of his compatriot Anders Antonsen, among others.
On that occasion, he became the first Dane since 1999 to win the award. Back then, it was Camilla Martin who was honored. The year before, Peter Gade received the award when it was first awarded.
Up until 2007, the award was common across genders, but the following year they switched to awarding both the male and female player of the year.