Why Peter Gade is still a force to reckon with

He should be known as Peter Great. His official website states that some like him for his looks, some for his character, some for his style of play. But one thing is for sure: Peter Gade is definitely a role model for his fans or fellow players and the large majority of people around the world of badminton. [caption id=“attachment_18203” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Gade’s USP is his unconventional style of play. Liu Jin/ AFP Photo”] [/caption] I saw Peter Gade way back in 1994 at the World Junior Championships in Malaysia. He was sitting against the wall in the passageway… weeping. He had just lost his quarter final singles match at the tournament where he was deemed a favourite. However, he did go on to win the men’s doubles title at the event. In spite of this, he persevered with the singles discipline and has sure come a long way since. Last week, Gade, 34, helped Denmark reach its first Sudirman Cup final since 1999. He managed to win all his matches along the way save the match against the mighty world no. 3 Chinese Lin Dan a.k.a. Super Dan in the final. It would be impossible to encompass Peter Gade’s greatness in this short article, but the genius of the man compelled me to try. Peter Gade Christensen, currently ranked world no. 5, hails from Denmark – a country where badminton is hugely popular. His style of play is unique. It’s not the usual conventional footwork – he tends to be side-on in the middle of the court – and stroking – he’s open-chested when hitting the shuttle from the back of the court. However, it is extremely neat and attractive to watch. Even today, a lot of youngsters, especially Europeans, try and imbibe his style of play, but not many have been successful. His movements on court are fluid, to say the least, and his strokes attacking and deceptive. Badminton legend and former world no. 1 Morten Frost observed that when Peter burst on the international scene, he was just quicker than other players. He outpaced them and reached the world no. 1 ranking at the age of 22 years. A winner of 16 Grand Prix titles, including the prestigious All-England Championship and the World Grand Prix titles in 1999 and four World Championship medals, Peter’s international career has spanned over 16 years and he’s still going strong. He has survived the changes in the sport i.e. the new scoring pattern, the increasing pace of the games etc. One has to admit that for a player to remain in the top rankings for this long a period, he has to be special. Really special. I had the unique opportunity to train alongside him at Aarhus, Denmark, in 1996. He would come in for the training session and casually warm up playing football – he is a self-confessed Liverpool FC fan. Thereafter, the training sessions would get intense. He never seemed to strain himself though – he made every movement and every stroke look so easy. The game came so easily to him. Recalling the All-England 2001 semi-final between our own P Gopichand and Peter, the quality of badminton was superb. Gopi fooled Peter with the flick serve on two occasions at the fag end of the second game to sneak away the match. Peter was livid as he thought those serves were illegal. However, there was not much he could do about it as the match went Gopi’s way and Gopi eventually went on to win the title. What was interesting was that I don’t think Peter ever forgot those moments. In a match a few months later, he played a trick shot against Gopi which according to me goes down as one of the best stroke innovations on a badminton court. This trick shot can be watched on YouTube. In 2001, Peter suffered a knee injury and had to go under the knife. This provided only a temporary setback, as the Peter with his determination, dedication and motivation climbed the ranking ladder slowly and surely and rose to be among the best in the world once again. In the past year or so, Peter reached the finals of the India Open Super Series 2011 and was runners-up at the BWF Super Series finals 2010. In spite of his age and tiring legs, he has been consistent as ever and is still providing a stiff challenge to the youngsters on the scene. Today, Peter is a brand ambassador at Solibad – badminton without borders – a world-wide foundation to help underprivileged children around the world. So, apart from entertaining and intriguing us on the badminton court, he is well aware of his social responsibility as well. This just makes us respect him that much more. Even though Peter is slated to retire after the London 2012 Olympics, he surely is still the poster boy and a wonderful ambassador for badminton – one with a heart and substance. A great or should it be a Gade champion.