Looking at those images, it is very hard to imagine the country has a glorious history in sports. The country were crowned European football champions in 1992, won the Confederations Cup in 1995 and is home to Allan Simonsen, named the "best player in Europe" in 1977, Peter Schmeichel, named the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993. The country has some of the best cyclists of all-time, with Michael Rasmussen reaching King of the Mountains status in the Tour de France in 2005 and 2006. Sports has always been promoted well in this part of the world, however, nothing has given the country an iconic status as much as the game of shuttle and racquet has. 

Although Nazi troops cut off the light and heat in the playing halls across the country during the second world war, the Danes stuck by the sport and didn't let the culture die down which subsequently led to the production of some all-time greats like Erland Kops, Flemming Delfs, Svend Pri, Morten Frost, Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen, Peter Rasmussen, Peter Gade, Lene Koppen, Camilla Martin, and Tine Baun.

After the heyday of Kops, Flemming Delfs and Svend Pri ruled the next decade with quite an authority before the legendary Morten Frost, arguably one of the greatest men's singles player in recent badminton history took over the mantle in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A technically skilled player, his strength was this ability to analyze and adapt his game and to work the weak points of his opponent, with patience. For consecutive eight years, he reached the All-England finals with the first victory coming in 1982. For a decade, he was the world’s best player, winning numerous international titles with consummate ease.

But since the turn of the millennium, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia established their dominance yet again and with the rise of Lin Dan, who displayed some breathtaking badminton, with a fire in the belly that propelled him to the pinnacle of badminton stardom, Denmark's dominance came to a halt. A country of roughly six million people, Denmark suffered more heartbreaks than most on the court at big ticket international events. In the sport’s flagship competitions like the Olympics, All-England, World Championships, Super Series Finals and the Thomas, Uber, and Sudirman Cups, Denmark and disappointment went hand in hand. 

But not anymore. 

After the occasional burst from Jan O Jorgensen, Viktor Axelsen took the world of badminton by storm by helping the Danish team win the Thomas Cup title in 2016 and also won the European Championships in the same year, beating fellow veteran compatriot Jorgensen. Those successes were sandwiched between his victories at the India Open and the season-ending BWF World Super Series finals in Dubai, where he beat Son Wan Ho in the semis and Tian Houwei in the final. At the Rio Olympics, the lanky lad lost to Chen Long in the semi-finals but beat the legendary Lin Dan in the bronze medal play-off to secure a medal for his country.

Now, we are witnessing the decline of Chinese dominance over the game and there rises the opportunity for unrelenting stars like Axelsen to shine under the sun more than ever. And when there is a path to follow and a trail that has already been blazed, Axelsen shouldn't take his foot off the pedal. After all, it is the question of keeping up with the country's huge legacy.