Sture Johnsson

Sture Johnsson (born 1945) is a retired badminton player from Sweden who won numerous Swedish national and international men's singles titles. His game was characterized by impressive stamina and mobility, and a powerful overhead smash.

Sture Göran Johnsson
Personal information
CountrySweden
Born (1945-09-27) 27 September 1945
Mölndal, Västra Götaland County, Sweden
HandednessRight
Career title(s)European champion (1968, 1970 & 1974)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Sweden
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1968 Bochum Men's singles
Gold medal – first place 1970 Port Talbot Men's singles
Gold medal – first place 1974 Vienna Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 1978 Preston Men's singles
European Mixed Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1974 Vienna Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 1978 Preston Mixed team

Career

Johnsson won men's singles at the first European Badminton Championships in 1968. He eventually won three singles titles at this biennial event (1968, 1970 and 1974[1]), a total bested only by Peter Gade in the early 2000s. He won the World Invitational Championships in 1971 held in Glasgow and reached the semifinals of men's singles at the All-England Championships on four occasions and was one of only a very few players to beat Rudy Hartono in tournament play during Hartono's prime (semifinals of 1973 German Open). Johnsson was a member of six consecutive Swedish Thomas Cup teams between 1963 and 1979.

He also competed at the first ever IBF World Championships in Malmö, in 1977, and was defeated in quarterfinals by the eventual champion Flemming Delfs.[2]

1972 Summer Olympics

Johnsson competed in badminton at the 1972 Summer Olympics, as a demonstration sport competition. In men's singles, he lost in semifinals against Rudy Hartono, 15-2, 15-4. In mixed doubles he played with Eva Twedberg, and they were beaten in the first round by Roland Maywald and Brigitte Steden of West Germany.

Achievements

European Championships

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1968 Bochum, West Germany West Germany Wolfgang Bochow 17–14, 11–15, 15–5 Gold Gold
1970 Port Talbot, Wales Denmark Elo Hansen 15–5, 15–6 Gold Gold
1974 Vienna, Austria Sweden Thomas Kihlström 15–7, 15–8 Gold Gold
1978 Preston, England Denmark Flemming Delfs 14–17, 9–15 Bronze Bronze

Other achievements
Rank Event Date Venue
Open Championships
1 Men's singles 1974, 1976 Swedish Open
1 Men's singles 1965, 1968, 1976 Norwegian International
Mixed doubles 1969
1 Men's singles 1968 French Open
1 Men's singles 1969 Belgian International
1 Men's singles 1972, 1973 U.S. Open
Mixed doubles 1973
1 Men's singles 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977 German Open
1 Men's singles 1969, 1972, 1975 Nordic Championships
National Championships
1 Men's singles 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971,
1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979		 Swedish Nationals
Men's doubles 1970, 1972

References
  1. Pat Davis, The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1983) 115.
  2. "Badminton's first world championships", World Badminton, July–August 1977, 3.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.