Chinese Olympic Shuttler Chen Long Was Called “Useless” For Not Winning Badminton Gold; Coach Reveals How Badly Blistered His Feet Were During Match

Chinese shuttler Chen Long arrived at the Tokyo Olympics with hopes of defending his Rio 2016 gold medal, but those dreams were dashed when he lost to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the badminton singles final on August 2.

Chen Long, 32, was defeated 15-21, 12-21 by the world No. 2, who became the first non-Asian man to win the singles title since 1996.

Though sixth seed Chen Long is ranked lower than Viktor, he has an advantage given his history of 14 wins and five losses against the Dane.

If Chen Long had won, he would become the second Chinese man in a row to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the sport. Lin Dan won gold at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games.