Denmark will be represented in all five badminton categories at the Olympics in Tokyo. This is confirmed by the BWF today, after the Singapore Open was cancelled on 12 May 2021, which was the last tournament that gave points to the Race to Tokyo rankings.
Anders Antonsen, Viktor Axelsen, Mia Blichfeldt, Kim Astrup / Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, Sara Thygesen / Maiken Fruergaard and Mathias Christiansen / Alexandra Bøje have qualified for Denmark in the fast-approaching Olympic games.
-It is a great and beautiful achievement that Denmark has qualified in all categories for the Olympics in the most remarkable qualification in the history of our country. There have been many bumps along the way and many difficult decisions to make, but it’s a great acknowledgement for the players to believe in the national coaches' decisions, tournament registrations and planning. This means that we now have nine players who are ready to represent the red and white colours in Tokyo, Elite and Sports Manager for Badminton Denmark, Jens Meibom said.
The sports management also notes that in these difficult corona times, it has succeeded in improving Viktor Axelsen's qualifying place, so that he ends up with an Olympic seeding, just like the mixed doubles pair Mathias Christiansen / Alexandra Bøje who also managed to qualify.
-Before corona hit us, we were without a qualified mixed doubles pair, but Mathias and Alexandra have really seized the opportunity, and they have succeeded in the very last championships to secure the qualification. Viktor has been exceptionally outstanding in 2021 and has played his way to a 3/4 seed. It is really important to avoid Kento Momota before a potential semifinal, and that our two men's singles do not meet before a possible final, and of course our goal is to win Olympic medals, Head National Coach, Kenneth Jonassen said.
Viktor Axelsen was number six on the Olympic qualifying list on 28 April 2020, where the ranking closed before it then reopened on 9 March 2021.
In each of the five categories, each nation can qualify for a maximum of two singles / double pairs. However, it requires that both singles players finish in the top 16 and that the double players end up in the top eight on the Olympic qualifying list. If the nation's second-best player finishes as, for example, number 17 in one of the singles categories, only one player from the nation qualifies.
Badminton Denmark must now nominate the Olympic-qualified players to DIF (the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark), and then it is DIF that will ultimately select the players who will represent Denmark at the Olympics in Tokyo.
If DIF selects the qualified badminton players, it will be the squad with the most Olympic debutants since 2000. In Sydney, there were ten Olympic debutants, while there may be eight in Tokyo. Viktor Axelsen is the only one who has participated in the Olympics before. He did so at the Olympics in Rio in 2016, where he won bronze.
The badminton competition of the Olympics will be played from 24 July to 2 August.
These are the Danes qualified for the Olympics and their position on the Olympic rankings:
Men's singles:
3. Anders Antonsen
4. Viktor Axelsen
Women's singles:
14. Mia Blichfeldt
Men's doubles:
10. Kim Astrup / Anders Skaarup Rasmussen
Women's doubles:
11. Sara Thygesen / Maiken Fruergaard
Mixed Doubles:
13. Mathias Christiansen / Alexandra Bøje