Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen pulls out of World Tour Finals 2024 with foot injury: “A hard pill to swallow”

Viktor Axelsen will not defend his title at the BWF World Tour Finals as he has withdrawn from the 2024 tournament in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, due to a foot injury.

The Olympic champion has won the last three men’s singles crowns at the end-of-season badminton event, and won twice under the previous tournament version, known as the Super Series Finals.

Axelsen said in a statement on social media on Tuesday, 3 December, “I’m unfortunately unable to participate in the HSBC World Tour Finals this December. I’m dealing with an injury in my left foot, which is causing me a lot of issues and I have been advised to deal with this immediately in order to avoid long term problems.

“I’m very disappointed not being able to play in Hangzhou. Having won the tournament 5 times and it being one of my favorite tournaments on the tour makes it a hard pill to swallow. However my first priority is to get 100% healthy before I compete. Thank you very much for your support always. It really means a lot to me.”

The current world number three won four titles in 2024, the highlight being a second consecutive Olympic gold at Paris 2024.