Denmark's Viktor Axelsen hits a return in the final of the men's singles match at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England on Sunday. Photo: VCG

Danish shuttler Viktor Axelsen won Olympic gold on Monday after defeating Chinese champion Chen Long in the men's singles badminton final. The new champion, who is also a huge fan of Chinese culture, gave his Chinese rival a big hug after the competition as a show of respect. After the match, while sending words of encouragement to Chen for his performance in the final, Chinese netizens also congratulated Axelsen. 

In the final competition, Axelsen defeated the Rio Olympic Games champion Chen Long 21-15 and 21-12. Finally winning against his "old rival," Axelsen was seen bursting into tears on the badminton court and hugging Chen. The two athletes also exchanged shirts to show their respect for each other. 

The two shuttlers' exchange soon became a hot topic on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo as touched netizens described the scene as "a hero knows how to appreciate another hero." Chinese netizens also sent Axelsen hearty congratulations. 

"Congrats! Over these many years, we have seen you make progress step by step! You are China's best competitor, also China's good friend! Keep fighting!" wrote one netizen on Sina Weibo. 

Some other attentive fans took note that the Danish player has been a fan of Chinese culture for quite a while. He has not only opened his own channels on Chinese video-sharing platforms such as Douyin and Bilibili to interact with fans, but also given himself a Chinese name - "An Sai Long." An is a homonym for Axelsen's family name, while "long" means "dragon" in Chinese, which led fans to describe his game with Chen Long as the "double dragon competition." 

"I chose 'long' because my Chinese teacher told me that dragon is a totem that symbolizes the Chinese spirit, and a man should be like a dragon, so I named myself An Sai Long," Axelsen once told media. 

Having studied Chinese since 2014, Axelsen boasts excellent Chinese language skills, often posting videos of himself doing Chinese tongue twisters. He also posted some touching words on Sina Weibo after winning the competition. 

"It's difficult to express my feelings in my limited Chinese. I have too much to say, but I don't know where to start. Let me say what I want to say the most - thank you everyone!" Axelsen posted on Sina Weibo to show his gratitude to Chinese fans.

He also congratulated Chen on Sina Weibo, adding that Chen has been a major inspiration for his badminton career. 

Axelsen is the first non-Asian man to win the badminton singles since Poul-Erik H?yer Larsen, another Danish player, took the gold at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.