Two-Time Olympic Champion Viktor Axelsen Announces Retirement On Insta Post

 

Danish shuttler Viktor Axelsen retired from professional badminton on Wednesday, April 15, through a social media post. The two-time Olympic Champion said that he is deciding due to recurring back issues and his body is not ready to take the toll of professional sport.

 

Axelsen last appeared in the French Open in October 2025. His last major tournament was the India Open last year, after which he battled through back injury concerns. "Today is not an easy day for me...," Axelsen said in an emotional statement on Instagram. "Due to my recurrent back issues, I am no longer able to compete and train at the highest level. After undergoing endoscopic surgery, multiple injections, new training methods, treatments, and basically trying everything to become pain-free for a long time now, I have been advised to focus on my long-term health. Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult. But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue," he said.

 

In April 2025, the Danish player underwent endoscopic surgery to recover from a disc herniation. The surgery sidelined him for more than five months and forced him to miss the World Championships in Paris. After his return to the action after a sobering first-round exit at the Hong Kong Open. The issue surfaced in late 2025, and it involved chronic nerve pain.

 

Viktor Axelsen is a two-time Olympic champion who won back-to-back gold medals in the men’s badminton singles events at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Games. He also won an Olympic bronze medal while making his debut in the history of the competition. With his gold medal in 2024, he became only the second man in history to successfully defend a men’s singles title after joining the legendary Lin Dan.

Olympics - Bronze (2016), Gold (2020 and 2024)

World Championships - Bronze (2014), Gold (2017 and 2022)

All England - 2020 and 2022

Also, he was World No.1 for a span of over 180 weeks and a "clean sweep" of all Super 1000 titles.

"Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult. But I have now reached a point where my body won't allow me to continue," he said in a statement.

"What makes it hardest to say goodbye is not the competition itself, but everything around it, the journey, the daily grind, the people," he added.