I was just reading the Copenhagen Masters writeup on Gade's website, and it looks like Kenneth Jonassen made the Copenhagen Masters his last tournament. I'm sorry to see him go! It was always great fun watching him.
yup, everytime he played, i thought of Terminator don't know why... and also his funny service during HKO 07 against DLCW
Yes its a shame he retired. But afterall he is now 34 and it was the right time to say stop. He peaked pretty late in his career, in my opinion from 2003-2005 and was around 2003 between the 4 best Mens single players. His match against Xia in the QF of the 2003 WC was unique and later Xia also made a statement that Kenneth was his toughest opponent on his road to gold. Sadly for Kenneth he never got a medal from the Olympics or WC. However a first european win in Singapore Open against LCW in the final must be one of the highligst of his career. The talent of Jonassen is not as big as many other shuttlers on the world circuit, but his determination and professionalism has made him come as far as he did. Together with a fairness and sportsmanship I would go as far as to say that this guy is one of those that I will miss the most, since he really stood out from average player and was something special. In singles superb defense, specially long lifts from smashes, has troubled many asian shuttlers (watch Xia-Jonassen 03).
Jonassen was easy to root for. He was obviously talented. But the average fan could see themselves in the way he lumbered about the court, stooping that tall frame to get drops or talking to himself after a mishit. And his gentleman-like demeanor, whether he won or lost, is certainly a good model for us all.