Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen will no longer be allowed to be coached by Denmark’s head coach Kenneth Jonassen, said national association Badminton Denmark in a statement today.

Axelsen will no longer have access to his long time coach Jonassen in any of the individual tournaments he competes in. This includes all World Tour tournaments such as the All England Championships, Denmark Open, etc.

“This (move from Axelsen) means that in the future, Viktor will no longer have Kenneth Jonassen as head coach and will not be able to receive coaching from a national coach for the individual tournaments on the World Tour,” TV2 reported Jens Meibom, Director of Elite Sports, Badminton Denmark as saying.

The decision from the national association comes after Axelsen left the national team and moved to Dubai.

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He will however still have access to the coaches of the national team in championship tournaments such as the World Championships, European Championships, Olympics and team tournaments such as the Thomas and Uber Cups and the Sudirman Cup.

Badminton Denmark, in another statement two days back said, “Badminton Denmark is naturally disappointed, but has respect for Viktor Axelsen’s decision to move to Dubai, and for his desire for new inspiration. However, the association does not perceive his move as an expression of dissatisfaction with the collaboration or the elite program.”

The statement further validated its elite programs for its players by pointing out that Axelsen won all titles including the Olympics, World Championships and the All England title when he was a part of the national program.

The move to Dubai has been a long time in the making for Axelsen. Badminton Denmark revealed that discussions about his move to Dubai existed prior to the Tokyo Olympics but were pushed to after the Olympics so that it would not distract his preparations for the Olympics.