Two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen announced his retirement from professional badminton on April 15th at the age of 32. His decision followed a gruelling, year-long battle with recurring back issues.
Despite undergoing endoscopic surgery for a disc herniation in April 2025 and attempting several comebacks, the persistent pain ultimately prevented him from training or competing at the sport's highest level.
'He was our Roger Federer'
As a two-time world champion, having won gold in Glasgow (2017) and Tokyo (2022), and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, Axelsen would undoubtedly have been a favourite to reclaim the world title. However, despite his absence at the upcoming World Championships, which start on Monday, Meibom said there is no reason to be bitter about the fact that Axelsen isn't present for the Danes in New Delhi.
"Of course, it was a huge blow for us - considering the medal prospects over the next two, three, or four years - where he could have played. He was, after all, historically our undisputed best player. He was our Roger Federer, and we would absolutely have loved to see him compete for us at the World Championships," Meibom told Flashscore.
"When his back problems increased, we knew perhaps intuitively where things were headed. But of course, there is no doubt that we would have loved to keep Viktor for another three to four years. Even when he retired, he was performing at a level where he could challenge the very best, which we also saw at the Denmark Open last year (where he reached the semi-final before losing to China's Shi Yu Qi 21-19, 17-21, 21-17)," Meibom added.
Axelsen 'would still be right at the top'
"If he could play pain-free, he would still be right at the top. And for us - with so few players at our disposal - losing our top medal contender was a huge blow. We know that it's going to be very hard to find somebody at his level. But that is simply a reality of our work, and we have to navigate accordingly," Meibom continued.
"We should feel privileged to have been alive at the same time as the undisputed greatest icon in Danish badminton - and perhaps one of the top three greatest Danish athletes of all time - and that we’ve had the chance to witness him and live through his era.
"I actually feel a sense of gratitude. So instead of being bitter and upset that he got injured prematurely, we should celebrate and be grateful that he gave us so many great experiences over the years," Meibom explained.
Denmark travel to New Delhi with two men's singles, two women's singles, two men's doubles, one women's double and two mixed doubles participants. And Meibom is very optimistic that Denmark can achieve great results in India despite the increase in global competition, which he has spoken about previously to Flashscore.
"Our target is at least to win a bronze medal, and our best shot is in men's singles and mixed doubles (Anders Antonsen in the men's singles and Alexandra Boje/ Mathias Christiansen in mixed doubles)," Meibom said.
In a different place eight months ago
"Eight months ago we were in a different place. We had Axelsen and actually three mixed double pairs who we hoped could make a great impact. We had a men's double, Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, who had a different ranking than now. So, at the moment we seem to have fewer shots of success than usual. So, the margin for error is smaller than what it used to be.
"The World Championships are very important to us, but our results are measured over a complete season. The results from the Teams World Championships (Thomas Cup and Uber Cup earlier in the Year) were very positive, and we have had great results on the World Tour, so we will be very disappointed if we return home without a medal," Meibom concluded.
The World Championships start on Monday in New Delhi and go on from August 17th to 23rd.