Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen aims to keep badminton in ...

Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen says he is embracing the responsibility of being a cheerleader for badminton, as the sport battles to capture global attention outside the Games spotlight.

Axelsen, who became only the second man to win successive Olympic singles golds in Paris this summer, begins his quest for a first Hong Kong Open title against home player Angus Ng Ka-long at Hong Kong Coliseum on Wednesday.

The Dane put his racquet away after “going to war” in the French capital, and acknowledged he was “not as motivated now as before the Olympics”.

Axelsen nevertheless expected his warrior spirit to quickly resurface, and insisted he was “hungry for more success”.

And, along with burnishing an already glittering resume, success for Axelsen – who learned Mandarin “to communicate with an even bigger fan base” – also involves spreading the word about his sport.