Viktor Axelsen is a Danish two-time badminton world champion, who is to play at the Paris Olympics. He is currently the world’s No. 2 player in men’s singles.
CGTN Europe’s Ken Browne sits down for an interview with Axelsen three weeks ahead of the games. They talked about Axelsen’s experience of learning from the Chinese badminton players and his expectations for the Paris Games.
What’s unusual about the interview is that both the reporter and the interviewee have been speaking Chinese the whole time! Check this out!
#Paris2024 #Olympics #Paris #China #badminton
CGTN Europe’s Ken Browne sits down for an interview with Axelsen three weeks ahead of the games. They talked about Axelsen’s experience of learning from the Chinese badminton players and his expectations for the Paris Games.
What’s unusual about the interview is that both the reporter and the interviewee have been speaking Chinese the whole time! Check this out!
#Paris2024 #Olympics #Paris #China #badminton
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello everyone, I'm Kenny, a reporter from CGTN. I'm here with Ancai Long, the Olympic gold medalist.
00:08Hello, thank you very much for coming here to interview me.
00:14Thank you, thank you. How is your health now?
00:19I think I'm in pretty good shape now.
00:22This year I had some injuries, but now I'm fine. I think my training has gone very well.
00:33I still have three weeks to go, so I'm confident in myself.
00:40Wow, you speak Chinese so well.
00:42Not at all, you speak it better than me.
00:44No, no. Why do you study Chinese?
00:49I think China is a very interesting country.
00:53Also, I think the Chinese team is really good. I think I can learn a lot.
01:02Also, I know that badminton is a very famous sport in China.
01:07So I told myself that if I could speak Chinese, it would bring me a lot of opportunities.
01:14For example, sponsorships, jobs, and so on.
01:18Also, I can learn a lot.
01:23For example, how do Chinese players train?
01:27What do they think about badminton?
01:29How do they train?
01:33That's great, that's great.
01:35It's strange to hear two foreigners speaking Chinese.
01:38The Olympics are coming soon. How do you feel?
01:43I'm looking forward to it.
01:45The Olympics is the most important competition for most badminton players.
01:52So I'm really looking forward to it.
01:54Also, I hope I can perform at my best at the Olympics.
01:59When you were in China, you spoke Chinese.
02:03Were they surprised? What did they say?
02:08Now, when we play in China, a lot of people already know that I can speak a little Chinese, right?
02:15But I remember very clearly, when I first started studying,
02:18when I was in China, I was in the gym.
02:22I was already in the gym, and two Chinese people came in.
02:28They said, wow, this person is really very tall.
02:31He must be an athlete.
02:33I told them, be careful, I don't understand what you're saying.
02:36They were very surprised.
02:38But actually, being able to speak Mandarin has brought me a lot of happiness.
02:43And every time I'm in China, I feel very happy.
02:48It's a new opportunity to improve my Chinese.
02:52Also, I can make new friends, right?
02:54Yes, yes, yes.
02:55I think Chinese people, if you are in China, you speak Chinese, you are a foreigner speaking Chinese.
03:01As long as you say, hello, they say, oh, your Chinese is so good.
03:05They want you to speak.
03:09They respect me.
03:10Besides, I think they find it very interesting.
03:13But, yes, I'm very happy.
03:16I started studying about ten years ago.
03:19This is a very important thing for me.
03:25Yes, yes.
03:26What's the strangest thing you've ever said in Chinese?
03:33I've already said what I said in the interview.
03:38I don't think it's the strangest thing.
03:41There's nothing strange about it.
03:42It's funny.
03:43It's funny.
03:44It's this, right?
03:45This is in the interview.
03:46Besides, sometimes my pronunciation is not very good, right?
03:49Say that, mom, mom, mom.
03:51I think when I first started learning Chinese, this was more difficult.
03:55Also, the scene and the scene.
03:58When I was interviewing, I really had to be careful.
04:01I don't want to say on the scene.
04:03I want to say on the scene.
04:04This is still a difficult thing for me sometimes.
04:11It's like a feather on the bed, right?
04:14Yes.
04:15You can't say that on the scene.
04:17Maybe some people can, but I can't.
04:20I think Chinese people, Chinese opponents are really interesting and important to you, right?
04:31Yes.
04:32I think when I first started playing badminton, I watched a lot of badminton games.
04:41And Bao Chunlai, he's the same as me.
04:44He's taller, right?
04:46So watching his games gave me a chance to learn a lot of things.
04:50His skills, his steps, and so on.
04:52Because when I started to grow very tall, I was actually a little nervous.
04:58Because there aren't that many very good men who are as tall as me.
05:04So watching Bao Chunlai play, it really gave me a chance to learn a lot of things.
05:11So he gave me a lot of motivation.
05:16Very good.
05:17At the Paris Olympics, what is your goal?
05:22My goal is to win the championship.
05:25But I think the competition is very intense.
05:30There are a lot of very strong opponents.
05:33So I think the most important thing for the team is to put all your attention on every game.
05:39Because the Olympics is very stressful.
05:41So don't think too far ahead.
05:43You have to play step by step.
05:45And I hope I can get very good results.
05:50Very good.
05:51And lastly, what do you want to say to your fans?
05:58Your Chinese fans.
06:00Because you have a lot.
06:01Yes.
06:02I want to thank all the Chinese fans for their support.
06:05Every time I play in China, I am very happy.
06:09There are a lot of people cheering for me.
06:11And they shout my name out loud.
06:13An Sai Long, jiayou!
06:14It makes me very touched.
06:16So I want to thank all the Chinese fans for their support.
06:21I am very, very happy.
06:22And I look forward to having a lot of opportunities to play in China in the future.
06:27So I can learn more.
06:29And I can communicate with Chinese fans.
06:32Thank you very much, An Sai Long.
06:34Thank you, An Sai Long.
06:35Today in Paris, we have to say An Sai Long, jiayou!
06:40Thank you, thank you.
06:41Thank you, everyone.
06:42Goodbye.