Finn Kobberø

Finn Kobberø (13 March 1936 – 21 January 2009) was a badminton player from Denmark, who won numerous international titles in all of badminton's three events (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s.

Finn Kobberø
Personal information
Country Denmark
Born(1936-03-13)13 March 1936
Died21 January 2009(2009-01-21) (aged 72)
EventDoubles, singles
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Denmark
Thomas Cup
Silver medal – second place1955 TokyoTeam
Silver medal – second place1964 TokyoTeam

Career

He was one of the most successful players in the history of the All England Open Badminton Championships with 15 titles between 1955 and 1966, 7 in men's doubles, mainly with hard-hitting Jorgen Hammergaard Hansen, and 8 in mixed doubles. He was also a three-time singles finalist at the All-Englands[1] despite a storied disdain for physical conditioning. A leading player on all of Denmark's Thomas Cup (men's international) teams from 1954 through 1964, he won 55 of 64 individual matches.[2] Powerful, quick, and deceptive, he has been rated among the most talented players in the sport's history.[3] He won 22 Danish national championships in all. He also won each of the three events at the Danish Open Championships though the tournament was not held during most of the years that he was active as a player.

Kobberø was inducted into the Badminton Hall of Fame in 1997.[4] He later worked as a sports journalist for national television in Denmark. He died January 21, 2009.

Achievements
Rank Event Date Venue
1
Mixed doubles 1955, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966 All England Open
1 Singles 1956, 1957 U.S. Open
Men's doubles 1958, 1960
Mixed doubles 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960
1 Men's doubles 1961, 1962 French Open
Mixed doubles 1962
2 Men's singles 1956, 1958, 1961 All England Open
Mixed doubles 1954, 1958, 1964

International tournaments

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1955 All England Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Malaysia Eddy Choong
Malaysia David Choong		 15–9, 14–17, 15–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1955 Malaysia Open Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Malaysia Ong Poh Lim
Malaysia Ooi Teik Hock		 7–15, 17–18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1956 All England Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Denmark John Nygaard
Denmark Poul-Erik Nielsen		 18–14, 15–5 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1956 US Open Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Malaysia Ong Poh Lim
Malaysia Ooi Teik Hock		 15–8, 9–15, 15–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1957 US Open Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Malaysia Eddy Choong
Canada Bert Fergus		 15–12, 15–2 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1958 All England Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Denmark Erland Kops
Denmark Poul-Erik Nielsen		 7–15, 15–11, 8–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1961 All England Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Denmark Erland Kops
Denmark Poul-Erik Nielsen		 15–6, 15–5 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1961 Canada Open Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Denmark Erland Kops
Scotland Robert McCoig		 15–8, 15–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1962 German Open Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Denmark Erland Kops
Denmark Poul-Erik Nielsen		 15–7, 15–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1962 Belgian International Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Malaysia Oon Chong Teik
Denmark Ole Mertz		 15–9, 7–15, 6–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1962 All England Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Thailand Narong Bhornchima
Thailand Raphi Kanchanaraphi		 17–16, 15–3 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1963 All England Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Indonesia Tan Joe Hock
Indonesia Ferry Sonneville		 10–15, 15–4, 15–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1964 German Open Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Denmark Erland Kops
Denmark Poul-Erik Nielsen		 3–15, 6–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1964 All England Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Denmark Erland Kops
Denmark Poul-Erik Nielsen		 15–6, 15–3 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1966 All England Denmark Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen Malaysia Ng Boon Bee
Malaysia Tan Yee Khan		 15–9, 9–15, 15–17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

References
  1. Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1967) 166-170.
  2. Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A, Jennings Ltd., 1967) 71-87.
  3. Pat Davis, The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England, 1983) 112.
  4. "Hall of Fame of the Badminton World Federation". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.


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