As a symbol of Europe vs Asia in the men's badminton, Peter Gade, former world No.1 in men's singles, finally said good-bye to the Olympics Thursday, after losing to top seed Lin Dan from China 21-13 and 21-16.
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Peter Gade from Denmark, former world No.1 in men's singles, finally said good-bye to the Olympics Thursday, after losing to top seed Lin Dan from China 21-13 and 21-16. [Xinhua]
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The whole match was solidly controlled by the 24-year-old top seed, whose speed on the court was too fast for the aging Dane to catch up with.
"He is in fantastic form, I was not able to keep mistakes low," admitted the 31-year-old player, who had attended three Olympics, but failed to win a single medal.
Gade, once holding the world No.1 ranking for three years in a row, was regarded as the biggest hope for Europeans to stage challenges to reigning Asians since Hoyer Larsen, also from Denmark, clinched the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics.
Apart from his outstanding performance on the court, the amiable personality and adorable looking also made Gade one of the most popular shuttlers among badminton fans from different countries, and thus helped the promotion of the sport in Europe, and the rest of the world as well.
However, the 1.83-meter right-handed, nicknamed Danish Golden Boy in China, was doomed to be a tragic figure, who had never dropped out of the top ten in world ranking in last 10 years, but never succeeded in claiming a single world title or an Olympic medal.
It's apparently not a problem for Gade, who enjoys the sport itself much more than the results. In contrast with many Asian players, European shuttlers take badminton more as their interest, not their whole life.
That's why the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium witnessed 38-year-old Jens Ericssen and 35-year-old Martin Lundgaard Hansen from Denmark, and 33-year-old Tracey Hallam and 31-year-old Gail Emms from Britain still active on the court.
But it had been hard for the aging Dane to match the speed and variation of younger generation, such as Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia, and to concentrate all his stamina consistently from the beginning to the end.
"Lin plays with a tremendous amount of variation. I have to be cautious and play at a high speed which is difficult to do without making mistakes," Peter said.
Hopes could be dashed, but pride won't be smashed.
"I've been playing badminton for over ten years, and made lots of achievements. How can I feel not satisfied with myself?" said Peter when asked of his career performance.
To the Dane who wants to do everything perfect, maybe it's right time to quit the game, to bathe the sunshine in Tuscany, Italy, and to enjoy his favorite Italian food.
But he will never quit badminton, which is badly in need of media coverage and young talents in Denmark, and in the rest of Europe as well.
"I will be a badminton coach after retirement. I hope we could have many more talents to replace me," said Gade.