Peter Gade: The Living Legend

The Danish professional badminton player, Peter Hoeg Gade is regarded as the iconic badminton player in the history of the sports. His signature style combined with a classic finesse is unparalleled, till date, he remains the badminton legend residing in the hearts of every badminton aficionado. 

Talk about eagle’s eye and Gade will show you his unflinching attitude to never drop the shuttle and always keep it in the court. His ceaseless commitment for the sport and constant motivation to the youth community led him to venture into his own academies and training centres. By far, he has the record of training the best players and his strong team compels this gentleman to promote the sport further.  One of the greatest reasons for his immense popularity and fan support is that he truly loves the game. He is never concerned about his individual accomplishments. He has a very selfless and humble personality.

Today, we dedicate our post to the legend- Peter Gade and shall be enlightening you with his career trajectory.

Early Life

Peter was born on 14th December 1976 in Aalborg, Denmark. His parents were amateur level badminton players and they always brought him to the badminton hall. Gradually they started playing with him and at a tender age of merely 6 years, Peter started playing badminton in the year 1982. After this, his interest in badminton plummeted which led him to follow his dreams and not look back.

Career

Peter Gade had a long and very successful career. The former professional badminton player was active for a long time when his rivals and teammates were quitting. He commenced his career at in the year 1994 and reign the badminton world for a long 14 years. From the start to the end of his active years, the player has set new milestones. In his junior years, he won his first ever International Tournaments of the World Junior Champion in doubles, with his partner Peder Nissen in 1994. And with this victory, Peter never looked back and continued grabbing titles, one after another.

In 1998, European Championships, Peter brought Gold medal by winning men’s singles and in the following year, he brought a Bronze Medal in the World championship of Copenhagen Masters. Gade made his mark by winning All England Open Championships Singles title in the year 1999 along with five European Championships titles in the men’s singles category. In his first Olympic match in 2000, Gade brought a Bronze. From the year 1998 to 2001, he was constantly on the top of the World Ranking and in 2006, he recaptured this crown after five years.

The only accomplishments he could not acquire is a Gold in Olympic as well as World Championships.

Victories

Till 2011, Peter won six European Championships, in men’s singles from the year 1998 to 2011 and clinched 5 Gold medals in this category. From 2006 to 2010, he won thrice in the European Men’s Team Championship and acquired 3 Golds. His team has also won a Silver at the Sudirman Cup in 20111 and a Bronze at the Thomas Cup 2012. In the World Championships, he also won one Silver and four Bronze in the men’s singles category.

Achievements

The astounding badminton player of Denmark, Peter Gade has impressive achievements. He has represented his country in four consecutive summer Olympics. Because of his remarkable performance, he also received the Special Award of the DBF 2006 and IBF World Badminton Player of the year 1998.

Style and Work

Peter has employed a variety of techniques like fast attacks, constant pressure, smooth footwork, with a combination of trademark shots and a plenty of deceptive shots to confuse his opponents. He has strong ethics towards his work and profession. He is undoubtedly a determined player.

Struggles

Despite all the accomplishments, he has suffered a lot due to back to back injuries. In the past, he had a knee injury and he faced another in 2001 at World Championships. Stumbling and struggling, he made a comeback at the World Grand Prix, which was held in Brunei, but it injured his knee again, which also lead to a surgery. He took a year break and focused to resume his career.

Peter retired from badminton in December 2012. He is a well-renowned player, loved and adored by his fans and fellow athletes. He is not just a beloved player of his country, but this Denmark Badminton player is also admired immensely in the Asian Countries and has a avid fan following in Indonesia, Malaysia and China.

He is an enthusiastic player, who has a quest for excellence. His achievements and the entire career is truly very inspirational. His emotions for game, selflessness, and humbleness make him a living legend.