Peter Gade

Peter Høeg Gade (born December 14, 1976 in Terndrup, Denmark), born Peter Gade Christensen, is a professional badminton player. He currently resides near Charlottenlund in Copenhagen with his wife, accomplished handball player Camilla Høeg. Together they have a daughter, Nanna, born in 2004.

Gade has made his mark in badminton history through his All England Open Badminton Championships singles title in 1999 and his four European Championships crowns in the men's single event. The Dane topped the world rankings from 1998 to 2001. With his 16 Grand-Prix titles, he has become one of the most successful players of all time. Gade remains very active on the international circuit. On June 22, 2006, he briefly recaptured the number one spot in the world rankings. This was achieved after winning the Singapore Open and reaching the quarter-final at the Malaysia Open.

His playing style is known for fast attacks, smooth footwork, constant pressure, and deceptive shots. At the club level he plays for Team Aarhus.

Career highlights

[edit] International Tournament wins

Mens' singles unless otherwise noted

* 1994—World-Junior-Champion in men's doubles
* 1995—Scottish Open, European-Junior-Championships
* 1997—German Open, Taiwan Open, Hong Kong Open
* 1998—Japan Open, Swiss Open, Danish Open, Malaysian Open, European Championships
* 1999—All England Open Badminton Championships, Ipoh Masters, Copenhagen Masters, Japan Open, World GrandPrix
* 2000—Korea Open, Danish Open, Taiwan Open, European Championships, Copenhagen Masters
* 2001—Copenhagen Masters, Korea Open
* 2002—US Open, Copenhagen Masters
* 2004—European Championships, Copenhagen Masters
* 2005—Korea Open, Copenhagen Masters
* 2006—European Championships, Aviva Singapore Open, Copenhagen Masters
* 2007—Malaysian Open, Copenhagen Masters
* 2008—Denmark Open, French Open, Copenhagen Masters[3]

[edit] BWF Super Series

[edit] 2008
Legend
1 Winner
2 Runner-up
SF Semi-finalist
QF Quarter-finalist
R2 Last 16
R1 Last 32
Q Qualification
DNP Did not play
Player MAS KOR ENG SUI SIN INA CHN JPN DEN FRA CHN HKG Points
Flag of Denmark Peter Gade DNP SF DNP DNP SF R2 DNP R1 1 1 45,240

2008 BWF Super Series - Men Single's Standings

[edit] 2007
Player MAS KOR ENG SUI SIN INA CHN JPN DEN FRA CHN HKG Points
Flag of Denmark Peter Gade 1 DNP R1 SF SF QF R2 QF R2 QF QF QF 54,440

2007 BWF Super Series - Men Single's Standings

[edit] Olympics

Peter Gade has represented Denmark in Badminton Singles for the two previous summer Olympics (2000 and 2004). Gade reached the semifinals in 2000 Summer Olympics, where he lost to eventual gold medalist Ji Xinpeng of China. In the bronze medal match, he lost to another Chinese player, Xia Xuanze. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles, he defeated Chien Yu-Hsiu of Chinese Taipei and Nikhil Kanetkar of India in the first two rounds. However, in the quarterfinals, Gade was defeated by the eventual champion, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia 15–12, 15–12.

Gade has stated that one of his final career goals is a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In an interview, he indicated that it might be one of his final big tournaments although not ruling out the possibility of continuing his career after the games.[4] He is planning to retire after the Olympics and begin coaching badminton. Gade won his first match in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in round two after defeating Nabil Lasmari 21-6, 21-4. In the third round Gade was to play Shoji Sato. Gade was nearly beaten after losing the first set 21-19 and Shoji Sato having 2 matchpoint in the second at the score 18-20. However Gade ultimately won the set 22-20. Gade hereafter won the third set 21-15. Gade lost in straight sets to Chinese champion Lin Dan in the quarter-final. Interestingly, Gade lost to the eventual winner in all three Olympic contests he entered. Furthermore, he proved to be the most formidable challenger to all three of them.

[edit] Other

* Danish National Champion: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007

[edit] Honors

* IBF World Badminton Player of the year 1998

[edit] References

1. ^ IBF Historical Ranking - MENS SINGLES
2. ^ BWF World Ranking - Men's Singles
3. ^ Title number 9, petergade.net, 29 December 2008
4. ^ Måske er trænertalentet større

[edit] External links

* Official site
* BWF Profile: Peter Gade Badminton World Federation
* DBF Profile Danmarks Badminton Forbund