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No player, before or since, has charmed the badminton world in the manner of Lene Koppen. The dentist from Copenhagen was as renowned for her looks as for her achievements – which included titles at the All England (1979 and 1980) and World Championships (1977).
Koppen led the European challenge at a time when the Chinese entered world badminton, and she acquitted herself well. It’s a bit of a surprise, therefore, when her daughter Marie Roepke – one of Denmark’s best women’s doubles players — says that her mother has had little to do with her badminton. “No, she hasn’t,” Roepke says, asked if her mother has influenced her. “When I started playing, I didn’t know she was a player. Dad has travelled with mom, and theyknow what I’m going through, so we don’t need to talk about what’s happening because they know it. She doesn’t offer any advice on my matches.She’s not in my badminton life. She lets the coaches do their job. She’s just my mother.
“She stopped playing five years before I was born. I never watched her play or anything. We talk what it was like at that time. It’s so different how you do things now, how you travel around and how you practice. I’ve watched some of her games, but I’ve not really been interested.”
Was there pressure to keep up with her mother’s accomplishments? “No, not at all,” replies Roepke. “I can’t compete against her. I think most of Danes know who my mother is. If I tell them she is my mother, they will know. Of course people ask and compare us to each other.”
Lene Koppen
With the exception of a couple of players, Europe’s top players need to seek alternate careers. That partly explains why there are so few Europeans in the top echelons of the game. Koppen was unusual even in that sense, for she graduated as a dentist in the year she won the World Championships (1977). Pursuing her dentistry even as a top badminton player, she went on to win two European, five Denmark Open, two All England titles and a World Cup during a glittering career. She retired on home turf at the World Championships in Copenhagen, 1983.
Roepke is keen on a career in banking, and is studying with Nordea Bank, which allows her some leeway in choosing tournaments. In contrast to her mother’s singles career, she is a doubles specialist. “Well, I was better at doubles when I was younger,” Roepke says. “I played singles until I was 19.”
The 26-year-old had a best ranking of No.14, but she and partner Line Kruse are currently No.33. She cannot be compared to her mother, but she is one of Denmark’s best doubles players, and she can be proud of her accomplishments, which includes silver medals at the London GP Gold 2013 and European Championships in 2012. She and Kruse are also three-time winners of the Forza Denmark International.
