Seeing Viktor do this makes me wonder what would happen if LCW also took the same steps. He has mentioned in the past that training facilities were lacking and he didn't have many good players to spar against. I am actually rather impressed with Viktor having the vision to do this, there might just more players who do the same in the future.
Let's wait for the first actual results to come in before praising or condemning his move. Watching his social media posts, I dare say it's obvious that he is also sponsored by the NAS. I mean... there is literally no post that shows him working out that doesn't contain at least one NAS logo somewhere. And honestly, I just cannot imagine him on court without Kenneth Jonassen coaching him between every single rally. But again... let's wait and see. I hope to see my concerns being thrashed to pieces.
I guess from Sudirman and Thomas Cup we can see that Viktor is the only one remains dominant. He easily cruises through all of his matches (except against Popov who was able to take him to 3 games but considering the scores, not much to say there). Heck, even Brian Yang, who has been training with Viktor, shows trememdous improvement. I think it's safe to say that his training is helping him.
This might spark new generation of training system in badminton A cluster of independent players I am up for this
Recent matches of VA are quite one-sided. He moving really well for a big dude. But in most matches I find opponents trying hard to smash VA hard instead of making him move, use deceptive pushes, half smashes etc. Lack of variation is boring. Even though ,he is moving very well, I want to see how he does against someone who makes him move a lot, deceptive and make him spread those long legs .
I can only see Momota or Ginting doing those things against Axelsen. Sent from my M2007J20CG using Tapatalk
Wow… just wow. I’m super impressed with the way Viktor broke his 7-years spell against Momota. Clearly, he’s in an absolute top shape, both physically and mentally - so kudos to his new coaching team in Dubai. Damn… I was so close to stop watching after he botched that 14-7(?) lead in the first game. Lucky that I didn’t.
Very impressed with his final against momota. Momota has been Victor’s demon for so long. This one match demonstrates how far Victor has come in his development. Momota asked all the hard questions to test victor’s movement, defense, and mental strength. Old victor would have been frustrated after the first game lost opportunities and just tanked the second game while trying to go for wild winners. But he regathered himself and was patient on his attack. Momota really didn’t visually seem tired until the second half of the third game when he started running out of steam to retrieve. oustanding final from both players
Genuinely impressed by how Viktor didn't give up after the first set. He looked exhausted and lost when he had many of his smashes returned, which usually does not happen when he faces most of the other opponents. Seemed like the mental strength and audience kept him moving til the end, he didn't even have much energy left to celebrate and suffered a cramp. It is good that he has beaten everyone there is to beat and it remains to be seen whether he can keep doing it to be the most dominant player of this era.
This victory over his nemesis Momota at the Denmark Open Final is a game-changer for Viktor Axelsen. He really got to break the jinx and erase at least 50% of whatever psychological advantage Momota has over him in their lop-sided H2H record. And Viktor did it, not without some drama ! As the saying goes, a good start is half the battle won. But, that's only the beginning of many more battles to come. In fact, the next one or two encounters between them is critical for VA to consolidate his gains and restore things to normalcy in their H2H going forward, with honours shared, perhaps in VA's favour slightly, if not many more (I'd expect). Erasing that 14 previous losses will definitely take a long time, not necessary to do that as long as VA comes out on top more often than not henceforth. Indeed, the immediate question is , how long can VA 2.0 maintain his rule? As it is , with two or three opponents able to push him hard at the moment, it's anybody's guess. Offhand, my intuition tells me it may be a little less or more than Momota's reign of roughly one and a half years (from the latter half of 2018 through 2019). Why do I say that? Because, as of now, I'm certain we aren't going to see another player a la Lin Dan or Lee CW for a good long while to come. That's just my opinion. Way to go, Viktor.
Woh, Viktor just retired after one point played to Heo Kwang Hee in R1 of the French Open '21. My take offhand (please don't overthink): Maybe VA didn't want to risk losing to Momota so soon after last Sunday's morale-boosting, uplifting victory over his nemesis breaking the near shutout in their H2H records. He would love to continue basking in his glory for a little while longer and ensure he is in his best shape when they next meet. That important win that broke the jinx hasn't come easy, not at all. It pays for him to capitalize on it and maximize his gains, mostly psychologically, as the mental aspect of the game between two titans should not be underestimated as it can be a decisive factor tilting the balance in favour of one or the other, esp when the battle is close and fiercely fought.
