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Badminton world number two Viktor Axelsen was forced to withdraw from Sunday’s European Championship final in Kiev after testing positive for Covid-19.
Axelsen was set to face compatriot Dane Anders Antonsen, who won his first European title with a walkover.
“Seeded and defending champion Viktor Axelsen returned a second positive test for Covid-19, banning him from playing in the men’s singles final of the 2021 European Championships today,” Badminton Denmark announced on Sunday.
He said Axelsen, 27, returned a first positive test after beating Finn Kalle Koljonen in the semi-final on Saturday and was due to self-isolate in Kiev.
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“He will remain in quarantine in a hotel room for the next 13 days.”
Axelsen, a bronze medalist in singles at the Rio Olympics, said he was in good health.
“There is no doubt that I would rather do nothing than make the final today against Anders,” Axelsen said in the statement.
“I am also very sorry that it will take me another two weeks before I can go home and see my family again,” he added.
“These are the conditions in which we have to play in this time where isolation and quarantine are a risk that we know to be present when we are competing. I still do not have any symptoms of illness and I am otherwise in a good mood. “
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