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Flemming Delfs
Personal information
Country	Denmark
Born	(1951-09-07) 7 September 1951 (age 73)
Handedness	Right
Men's singles
Highest ranking	1 (1977)
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Denmark World Championships 1977 Malmö Men's Singles 1980 Jakarta Men's doubles World Cup 1980 Kyoto Men's doubles 1979 Tokyo Men's singles 1980 Kyoto Men's singles 1979 Tokyo Men's doubles Thomas Cup 1973 Jakarta Men's team 1979 Jakarta Men's team 1982 London Men's team European Championships 1976 Dublin Men's singles 1978 Preston Men's singles 1980 Groningen Men's singles 1976 Dublin Mixed team 1978 Preston Mixed team 1980 Groningen Mixed team 1972 Karlskrona Mixed team 1974 Vienna Mixed team 1972 Karlskrona Men's singles 1974 Vienna Men's singles 1974 Vienna Men's doubles 1980 Groningen Men's doubles European Junior Championships 1969 Leidschendam-Voorburg Boys' singles 1969 Leidschendam-Voorburg Boys' doubles

Flemming Delfs (born September 7, 1951) is a former Danish badminton player who was world no. 1 in 1977. He won the All England Championship, the European and the World Championship in the 1970s.

Career

Delfs is especially noteworthy for winning men's singles at the first IBF World Championships held in Malmö, Sweden in 1977. He dominated that same 1976/1977 season by winning nearly all other noteworthy tournaments, including the All-England Championships. Delfs won three consecutive European men's singles titles in 1976, 1978, and 1980. He played on all four Danish Thomas Cup (men's international) teams between 1972 and 1982, two of which (1973, 1979) reached the championship round before losing to Indonesia. Tall, with an elegant style and powerful backhand, Delfs was a highly impressive player at his best, but typically had difficulty in the hot, humid conditions he encountered in the Far East.

Later life

After ending his active career, Delfs became CEO and co-owner of Patrick Skandinavia A/S the Danish distributor for Patrick.

Achievements

World Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1977	Malmö Isstadion, Malmö, Sweden	Svend Pri	15–5, 15–6	Gold

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1980	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Steen Skovgaard	Rudy Heryanto Hariamanto Kartono	7–15, 7–15	Bronze

World Cup

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1979	Tokyo, Japan	Iie Sumirat	7–15, 7–15	Bronze
1980	Kyoto, Japan	Masao Tsuchida	10–15, 13–15	Bronze

European Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1972	Karlskrona, Sweden	Klaus Kaagaard	13–18, 15–8, 7–15	Bronze
1974	Vienna, Austria	Sture Johnsson	15–4, 6–15, 8–15	Bronze
1976	Dublin, Ireland	Elo Hansen	15–4, 15–7	Gold
1978	Preston, England	Thomas Kihlström	10–15, 15–6, 15–12	Gold
1980	Groningen, Netherlands	Morten Frost	15–4, 1–15, 17–14	Gold

International tournaments

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1973	Denmark Open	Rudy Hartono	14–17, 12–15	Runner-up
1973	India Open	Svend Pri	8–15, 7–15	Runner-up
1974	Portugal International	Elo Hansen		Runner-up
1975	Dutch Open	Sture Johnsson	14–15, 15–0, 15–10	Winner
1975	German Open	Paul Whetnall	15–10, 15–12	Winner
1975	Jamaica International	Jamie Paulson	15–6, 15–2	Winner
1976	Denmark Open	Svend Pri	15–9, 5–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1976	Dutch Open			Winner
1976	German Open	Paul Whetnall		Runner-up
1977	Swedish Open	Liem Swie King	4–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1977	Canada Open	Thomas Kihlström	12–15, 15–7, 15–10	Winner
1977	All England	Liem Swie King	15–17, 15–11, 15–8	Winner
1977	Denmark Open	Svend Pri	15–12, 15–7	Winner
1977	Japan Open	Thomas Kihlström	15–9, 13–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1978	Swedish Open	Svend Pri	3–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1978	Dutch Open	Svend Pri	15–3, 3–15, 15–7	Winner
1978	Canada Open	Thomas Kihlström	14–17, 15–11, 18–16	Winner
1979	Swedish Open	Ray Stevens	15–7, 15–0	Winner
1979	Dutch Open	Morten Frost	15–6, 3–15, 17–15	Winner
1979	Denmark Open	Morten Frost	15–7, 15–7	Winner
1979	All England	Liem Swie King	7–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1979	Canada Open	Morten Frost	7–15, 17–14, 7–15	Runner-up
1980	Chinese Taipei Open	Iie Sumirat		Winner
1980	Victor Cup	Thomas Kihlström	7–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1982	Scottish Open	Morten Frost	4–15, 2–15	Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1974	Portugal International	Elo Hansen	David Hunt William Kidd		Runner-up
1975	Jamaica International	Elo Hansen	Mike Tredgett Ray Stevens	15–13, 4–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1976	Swedish Open	Elo Hansen			Winner
1976	Dutch Open	Elo Hansen			Winner
1976	Denmark Open	Elo Hansen	David Eddy Eddy Sutton	13–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1977	Japan Open	Steen Skovgaard	Nobutaka Ikeda Shoichi Toganoo	15–9, 15–2	Winner
1977	Denmark Open	Steen Skovgaard	Thomas Kihlström Bengt Fröman	6–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1978	Denmark Open	Steen Skovgaard	Christian Hadinata Ade Chandra	15–6, 15–11	Winner
1978	Canada Open	Steen Skovgaard	Thomas Kihlström Bengt Fröman	15–9, 10–15, retired	Runner-up
1978	Swedish Open	Steen Skovgaard	Thomas Kihlström Bengt Fröman	15–18, 15–9, 15–8	Winner
1979	Canada Open	Morten Frost	Christian Hadinata Ade Chandra	5–15, 1–15	Runner-up
1979	Swedish Open	Steen Skovgaard	Steen Fladberg Morten Frost	15–12, 12–15, 15–10	Winner
1980	Copenhagen Cup	Steen Skovgaard	Steen Fladberg Morten Frost		Winner
1980	Denmark Open	Steen Skovgaard	Christian Hadinata Ade Chandra	15–10, 10–15, 15–10	Winner
1980	Chinese Taipei Open	Steen Skovgaard	Hadibowo Susanto Bobby Ertanto		Runner-up
1980	Victor Cup	Steen Skovgaard	Thomas Kihlström Claes Nordin	5–15, 17–18	Runner-up
1981	Japan Open	Prakash Padukone	Christian Hadinata Lius Pongoh	4–15, 5–15	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1973	Mexico International	Carlene Starkey	G. Harris Madalene Steinbroner	15–12, 15–1	Winner

References

1. Mohapatra, Bikash (07 September 2021). "Happy 70th...To A Forgotten Champion From The 1970s", .
2. Pat Davis, The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1983) 109.
3. Davis, 149
4. Davis, 115.
5. Davis 125-128.
6. Davis, 149.

External links

• Flemming Delfs's Profile - Badminton.dk Archived 2010-10-05 at the Wayback Machine

• 1951 births
• Living people
• Danish male badminton players
• 20th-century Danish sportsmen