KUALA LUMPUR: With two Olympic titles to his name, Denmark's Viktor Axelsen is set to go down in history as one of the greatest badminton players of all time.
One wonders how Axelsen's career might have unfolded if he had been in the same generation as Malaysian and Chinese legends, Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan, who dominated much of the era between the mid-2000s and mid-2010s.
Being about 10 years younger, Axelsen had the opportunity to compete against both Chong Wei and Lin Dan in the twilight of their careers, as they extended their playing days into their late 30s.
While much is left to debate, many would be interested in Axelsen's perspective on which of the two he found more challenging to face: Chong Wei or Lin Dan.
Axelsen was unequivocal in stating that Chong Wei had given him a tougher time compared to Lin Dan, despite the latter being the one whose record of winning two consecutive men's singles gold medals at the Olympics, matching the Dane.
At one point, Axelsen claimed he simply could not comprehend how Chong Wei could be beaten. This statement carries weight, especially considering Axelsen's poor head-to-head record of 3-11 against the Malaysian legend.
It wasn't until their 10th encounter that Axelsen finally secured his first victory against Chong Wei, in a hard-fought three-game match during the group stage of the 2016 season-ending World Superseries Finals in Dubai.
Axelsen vividly recalled being soundly beaten 21-8, 21-10 by Chong Wei in the first round of the 2013 Malaysia Open.
During a session on the Twitch video live-streaming platform, Axelsen revealed: "I think at the start of my career, when I was still young and coming up, I played Chong Wei on numerous occasions and I literally couldn't understand how somebody could win against Chong Wei."
He continued: "Because he was so much faster than me, he was so sharp. I remember playing him at the Malaysia Open when I was maybe one of my first years on tour that I literally I couldn't lift without him just smashing it in the ground. It was absolutely crazy. I think I lost with eight and 12 (actual score was 10) in like whatever minutes."
After his first victory in their 10th meeting, Axelsen managed to secure two more wins in their next four encounters between 2017 and 2018.
However, Axelsen would face another decisive defeat in the quarter-finals of the 2018 Malaysia Open, the year when Chong Wei celebrated his historic 12th title - just a month before his nose cancer diagnosis that led to his retirement.
Reflecting on his improvement, Axelsen said: "As I started to get a little bit older and better around 2016 and 2017, my defence started to get better and then I sort of figured out a way how to score points while Chong Wei also got older and I got to my better age for me."
He added: "So you know you could say that I didn't play Chong Wei and Lin Dan at their absolute peak when I was also at my peak."
As for his record against Lin Dan, Axelsen managed six wins in nine meetings, indicating that he found the Chinese player more manageable to face.
"He (Lin Dan) was rallying a little bit more, so I actually felt a little bit better playing against him because I could play rallies," said Axelsen.
"Even though it was really hard to read his shots, but still I felt like I could rally and play more.
"While when I was playing Chong Wei at the start of my career, I just felt like every time I tried to lift or play the backcourt, I actually felt a little bit harder."