‘Badminton? That’s for girls!’

Erland Kops’ initiation into badminton happened with those words. His tough-guy image and the seven All England titles would come in due course

Dev S Sukumar. Odense

Erland Kops. The name is like its bearer — evoking images of toughness, masculinity, a quiet menace. There is no romance in the name, just an air of finality. Photographs of him in the late Fifties and Sixties show a bearded, muscular man with no hint of levity on his face.

It’s a long time since those days, but Erland Kops still maintains that aura. The waistline might have extended, the hair turned white, but the man who was relentless in his conquest of badminton glory still has a toughness that’s impossible to miss. That toughness brought him seven All England titles and triumphs across Asia and Europe. Erland Kops is among the greatest of them all.

And yet, it was no machismo that brought him the name, but a girl he was in love with. Erland Kops was born Erland Olsen, and the girl didn’t like the name at all. ”Olsen was a common name in Denmark,” says the legend, who was at the Denmark Open, and takes a keen interest in the contemporary game. ”So she didn’t like it, and asked me to change it. In those days you could buy a name from the government. My mother’s family name was Kops, so she bought that name for me. But… the girl didn’t marry me anyway.”

Still, it was after the name changed that his first All England title came, in 1958. Kops became a badminton pilgrim. Having stopped eight successive years of Malayan dominance, he got a job with the East Asiatic Company and moved to Bangkok for three years. Malaya had left Europe trailing in its wake; indeed, no European had succeeded in humid Asian conditions. For the next few years he played all over Asia, familiarising himself with their style, becoming the first European badminton player to explore what was earlier a land of fable and myth.

He travelled in India more than any other country. People of that time still speak in awe of him, and his matches against Nandu Natekar, TN Seth, Amrit Lal Dewan and the others. ”I’ve been to every place in the north, and Hyderabad in the south. Nandu was a beautiful, stylish player. But after more than half an hour, he had no stamina left, and my style — I could run for days. There were a number of other talented players… it was always a problem playing them. You always had to fight for it.”

”I’ve played a lot of matches all over India under very very peculiar circumstances. Sometimes one side of the court would be higher than the other, so we would look down at our opponents in one game and up at them in the next! That was very funny.”

Kops’ hunger for victory came from no dire circumstances; he was from a well-to-do family. He would pass a badminton court on the way to school, and one day spotted a friend carrying a peculiar bag. Told that it contained a badminton racquet, the eight-year-old Erland said: ”Badminton? That’s for girls!”

Back with a bang

Marc Zwiebler had to confront dark questions after a back injury led him to depression. But the injury also taught him the most important lessons of his life

Dev S Sukumar. Odense

HE might not be a celebrity in his home Germany; nor is he likely to become one even after his remarkable performance here at the Denmark Open Super Series. But world No.30 Marc Zwiebler has no complaints. Playing badminton is the biggest prize he has earned, and he knows how precious it is.

Zwiebler, a good second-rung player who had not gone beyond the semifinals of even a Grand Prix tournament, was nearly immobilised after developing a back problem in 2005. He tweaked a nerve in a match; the injury got worse and he was barely able to move. “It was hard,” says Zwiebler, who, until now, was one of badminton’s many journeymen. “As a kid I was always very active and into sport. I’d always been successful as a junior. But after the injury I had my first free summer, and I didn’t know what to do. The first few months I was desperate. I went into a hole. I enrolled at university and used to play a little bit. I realised I was going to have to accept the injury, the possibility that I wasn’t able to play competitively.”

Zwiebler gradually got accustomed to life outside the badminton circuit. But the rest and exercise were doing him good, and he made a comeback in September 2007. It lasted one tournament . After another prolonged break of five months, he returned to the circuit. “I’d worked on my fitness and my back muscles and it was very hard work.But I think studying at the university did me a lot of good, it opened me up to other people and other activities.”

With top Chinese players pulling out and the draw opening up, the left-handed Zwiebler sniffed his chance and seized it. He outlasted former Commonwealth Games champion Wong Choong Hann, overturned a deficit against former All England champion Hafiz Hashim and in the quarterfinal dismissed Chen Long — arguably the face of China’s next generation — in straight sets. The semifinal against world No.9 Sony Dwi Kuncoro was a classic defensive battle, and he upset the Indonesian to come within a match of his greatest triumph.

His heroics — even in the event of a title victory — are unlikely to make him famous in his football-crazy homeland. But Zwiebler, having experienced the depth of a sportsman’s deprivation, is at peace. “When I was unable to play, that’s when I realised how much badminton meant to me. When you’re a player, you’re always complaining about the travel and the training. I have a good life. I’ve travelled the world, and I’ve made friends. I can’t complain.”

Chetan Anand is Dutch Open champion

18 October 09, Almere (Holland): World no.18 Chetan Anand won the biggest tournament of his career with a straight games demolition of local hope Eric Pang in the final of the Dutch Open Grand Prix Gold here on Sunday. The top-ranked Indian beat the world no.24 and sixth seed 21-12 21-15 for his first-ever GP Gold title.
The title salvaged what has been an ordinary year thus far for the former national champion. This makes him the first Indian male to win a GP Gold title.
The Dutch Open, with a draw of 64, saw Chetan cruise through six opponents – including two Indians – without the loss of a game. In the first two rounds he disposed off Julien Warnotte (Ger) and Misha Zilberman (Isr), while in the third he had it surprisingly easy over compatriot Ajay Jayaram, who had shocked 10th seed Ville Lang in the first round.
Next up was Parupalli Kashyap, and Chetan again came through after a tight first game, 23-21 21-14. In the semifinal it was Dutchman Dicky Palyama, and the Indian took less than half-an-hour to subdue him, 21-14 21-6.
Finally, he took on Palyama’s countryman Eric Pang in the title clash. The first game was Chetan all the way, leading from start to finish. In the second game, the Dutchman clung on until 3-all, but from there Chetan stepped on the gas and maintained a comfortable distance.
The other Indians in the draw disappointed. Anand Pawar (13) could not trouble Malaysian Wong Choon Hann (21-14 21-18) in the third round, while Anup Sridhar and Arvind Bhat were unlucky to run into each other. Arvind prevailed in a cracker of a contest, 21-17 23-25 23-21 to enter the quarterfinals. He could not get the better of Eric Pang in a 21-10 21-19 result.
Among the women, Aditi Mutatkar won her first round match, but could not get the better of Karin Schnasse (Ger) in a tough three-setter, after beating Ukrainian Elena Prous in the first round (22-20 21-17).
In the men’s doubles, Rupesh Kumar/ Sanave Thomas lost to sixth seeds Kristoff Hopp/ Johannes Schoettler (Ger) 21-9 23-21, while Akshay Dewalkar/ Jishnu Sanyal were second-round casualties.