A picture that speaks a thousand words

In our world of millions of images flitting by, it’s a rare image that will make one stop and stare. One such image is the one here: Erland Kops and Jan O Jorgensen, taken by Trine Bay of Badminton Denmark at the ongoing Denmark national badminton championships. Any lover of badminton will immediately recognize the import of this picture, for it captures more than just a casual conversation.

The elderly gentleman on the left is Erland Kops, one of the greatest names in badminton. To the right is Jan O Jorgensen, who carries Denmark’s hopes for the present and future. These two figures represent more than just Denmark badminton – they represent the excellence of human endeavour and its fondest hopes.

Erland Kops was a giant of his time. For a decade from the late Fifties, Kops dominated badminton with a steely resolve, winning seven All England titles in eight finals. Kops brought about a tough-guy image to badminton – a fierceness and competitive desire not seen before. Not blessed with great talent, he made up for it with great athleticism and stamina, and few players could match his win-at-all-costs attitude. So hungry was he to perfect his competitive skills that he trained in Malaya under the legendary Eddy Choong for a while, getting used to Asian conditions and Asian methods of training. Europe had found it hard to match the Asians, and Kops was the first European to attempt the unthinkable, by training with the lion in his own den.

Kops was followed by several other great Denmark players, such as Flemming Delfs, Svend Pri, Morten Frost, Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen and Peter Gade, but nobody was quite able to dominate an era as he did. His record of seven All England titles would be broken by Indonesian Rudy Hartono in the Seventies, and I asked him what he made of it. “Well, when I set the record, I did it myself,” he said. “With Rudy, it was him and the Indonesian federation that did it.” Kops was of course referring to all-Indonesia finals, such as the 1976 final between Rudy and compatriot Liem Swie King, that might have been influenced by the federation.

Denmark badminton finds itself in a tricky spot now, heavily dependent on Jan O Jorgensen and the young Viktor Axelsen to carry forward that legacy. Jorgensen, who has been touted as a prospective world champion early in his career, has had a great resurgence lately, beating the likes of China’s Chen Jin and Lin Dan, which makes him a prospective medallist at the Olympics and the harbinger of Denmark’s badminton fortunes.

And since Denmark carries the flag for Europe, and is a rare threat to China in some events at least, let’s hope Jan O can make good use of Kops’s advice!

Pic courtesy: Trine Bay/ Badminton Denmark