Denmark: an emerging country for Badminton
The present status of Denmark in the field of badminton is the result of gradual hard work by the players, as well as the country’s Badminton Association. Denmark initially struggled to gain a foothold in badminton, as competing against
countries like China, Indonesia and Malaysia, which is considered to be giants of badminton, was not easy. Denmark survived and gained status, as now badminton has become one of the most played and popular games in the country.
A recent survey in Denmark regarding the interest of people in badminton, has disclosed that the Danish enjoy badminton to such an extent that almost five thousand people are directly or indirectly involved in the sport. This includes
those people that indulge in badminton either by playing or by watching it. Interestingly there are no age boundaries for enjoying badminton, as young and old alike, are equally interested in the game.
In Denmark badminton was officially introduced in 1925. At that time, there was a hall of Physical Education that was to be used as a tennis court, but the width and length of the hall was not according to the required size of a badminton
court. One of the club’s members, who also owned a sports shop, received a racquet for repair. He had never seen such racquet before and after inquiring to the customer, he was informed for the first time about the sport of badminton. In response, he brought
four racquets to his shop from England, as he and his three friends played the game in that hall and thus laid the foundation of badminton in Denmark. Since then, badminton has slowly but gradually progressed and in a short span of just 25 years, Denmark has
ranked itself among the top badminton countries.
The Badminton Association of Denmark was established many years after the introduction of the game in Denmark. This association is responsible for all the national as well as international arrangements of the tournaments and ensures the participation of
their best players. It also supports the club level teams throughout the country. The association tries to enlist as many professional players as possible and provides them opportunities for bringing a good name to Denmark.
One of the best contributions that the Badminton Association of Denmark has given to the world is Morten Frost Hansen, nick named as ‘Mr. Gentleman’. He remained active in the game for 12 years and during this time he was never ranked less than top three.
Hansen’s record of winning all the invitational Grand Prix tournaments is yet to be broken, as he has won the All England Championships a record four times. During his badminton career, he was unable to win a singles World Title apart from that, he grabbed
almost every title he played for. Nobody else in this field has served Denmark as well as Hansen, as after retirement he voluntarily became the coach of the national team and under his guidance Denmark won many titles.
With countries like China, Malaysia and Indonesia, dominating the badminton scene for the past few years, countries like Denmark are making their mark in the sport and are slowly paving the way for badminton to become big in Europe. As the popularity badminton
begins to spread around the globe, more leagues and associations will be developed and begin to offer new championship tournaments and titles. This inevitably leads to more money, as more and more professional badminton players will be attracted to play in
Europe.
The success story of badminton in Denmark is encouragement for other countries for the promotion of this exciting game.
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