Erland Kops
Erland Kops ( born January 14, 1937 in Copenhagen) is a former Danish badminton player.
Career
Erland Kops was the dominant European badminton player in the 1960s. He won eleven times the All England 1958-1969 ( seven men's singles, men's doubles four times ). The introduction of official Badminton Championships in 1968 or even 1977 World Championships came in too late to get an official title of badminton associations. His glory days were as over -40s at this time already over for him. The early 1970s, he confined himself therefore at major tournaments on the men's doubles at the side of Svend Pri or Henning Borch. With the latter he won silver in 1970 in a double and so his only European Championship medal. He played 44 international matches for Denmark in the years from 1957 to 1972.
Trivia
Kops was included in the Badminton Hall of Fame in 1992 in the Hall of Fame of the Danish Sports and 1997. In 1961 he was voted Denmark's Sportsman of the Year. In 2013 he was inducted as the first member of the Hall of Fame of Badminton Europe.
Kops is still alive today in Copenhagen.