Sture Johnsson

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

Sture Johnsson (born 27 September 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.

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 Ruhrlandhalle, Bochum, West Germany Wolfgang Bochow 17–14, 11–15, 15–5 Gold
1970 Afan Lido, Port Talbot, Wales Elo Hansen 15–5, 15–6 Gold
1974 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria Thomas Kihlström 15–7, 15–8 Gold
1978 Guild Hall, Preston, England Flemming Delfs 14–17, 9–15 Bronze

International tournaments (25 titles, 28 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1965 Norwegian International Kurt Johnsson 15–11, 15–10 Winner
1967 Norwegian International Erland Kops 8–15, 6–15 Runner-up
1967 Nordic Championships Erland Kops 7–15, 12–15 Runner-up
1968 French Open Lee Kin Tat 15–12, 15–3 Winner
1968 Norwegian International Klaus Kaagaard 17–16, 15–5 Winner
1969 Swedish Open Svend Pri 18–15, 12–15, 10–15 Runner-up
1969 Canada Open Erland Kops 11–15, 1–15 Runner-up
1969 Norwegian International Klaus Kaagaard 13–18, 15–2, 12–15 Runner-up
1969 Nordic Championships Kurt Johnsson 15–6, 15–8 Winner
1970 Swedish Open Svend Pri 15–0, 3–15, 5–15 Runner-up
1971 German Open Jørgen Mortensen 18–15, 15–5 Winner
1971 Swedish Open Elo Hansen 18–17, 10–15, 5–15 Runner-up
1971 Nordic Championships Svend Pri 15–8, 11–15, 7–15 Runner-up
1972 German Open Tan Aik Huang 14–18, 15–5, 15–7 Winner
1972 Dutch Open Svend Pri 15–8, 15–2 Winner
1972 Swedish Open Svend Pri 12–15, 6–15 Runner-up
1972 U.S. Open Derek Talbot 15–3, 13–15, 15–8 Winner
1972 Canada Open Derek Talbot 7–15, 6–15 Runner-up
1972 Mexico International Roy Díaz González 15–8, 15–11 Winner
1972 Nordic Championships Thomas Kihlström 15–3, 17–14 Winner
1973 German Open Tjun Tjun 15–5, 12–15, 15–5 Winner
1973 Dutch Open Wolfgang Bochow 15–6, 8–15, 15–6 Winner
1973 Swedish Open Svend Pri 15–5, 6–15, 10–15 Runner-up
1973 U.S. Open Derek Talbot 15–4, 15–4 Winner
1973 Mexico International Roy Díaz González 15–4, 15–4 Winner
1973 Jamaica International Wolfgang Bochow 15–9, 15–12 Winner
1973 Nordic Championships Svend Pri 6–15, 8–15 Runner-up
1974 German Open Wolfgang Bochow 11–15, 18–15, 15–12 Winner
1974 Dutch Open Svend Pri 7–15, 7–15 Runner-up
1974 Denmark Open Svend Pri 11–15, 5–15 Runner-up
1974 Swedish Open Klaus Kaagaard 15–3, 15–11 Winner
1974 Jamaica International Roy Díaz González 15–2, 15–7 Winner
1975 Dutch Open Flemming Delfs 15–14, 0–15, 11–15 Runner-up
1975 Swedish Open Svend Pri 17–15, 8–15, 9–15 Runner-up
1975 Mexico International Thomas Kihlström 15–6, 11–15, 11–15 Runner-up
1975 Norwegian International Flemming Delfs 1–15, 5–15 Runner-up
1975 Nordic Championships Flemming Delfs 15–6, 12–15, 15–3 Winner
1976 Swedish Open Ray Stevens 15–12, 15–10 Winner
1976 Norwegian International Flemming Delfs 15–4, 1–15, 15–7 Winner
1977 German Open Derek Talbot 12–15, 18–15, 15–7 Winner
1977 Dutch Open Derek Talbot 15–8, 6–15, 13–18 Runner-up
1978 Norwegian International Steen Fladberg 15–10, 5–6 retired Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1967 Norwegian International Kurt Johnsson Erland Kops
Elo Hansen 		8–15, 11–15 Runner-up
1968 French Open Kurt Johnsson Horst Lösche
Gerhard Kucki 		15–6, 3–15, 2–15 Runner-up
1968 Norwegian International Kurt Johnsson Tom Bacher
Klaus Kaagaard 		9–15, 7–15 Runner-up
1969 Norwegian International Gert Perneklo Jørgen Mortensen
Klaus Kaagaard 		8–15, 4–15 Runner-up
1971 Norwegian International Bengt Fröman Kurt Johnsson
Thomas Kihlström 		12–15, 9–15 Runner-up
1975 Mexico International Thomas Kihlström Flemming Delfs
Elo Hansen 		15–11, 13–15, 5–15 Runner-up
1976 Mexico International Stefan Karlsson Ray Stevens
Mike Tredgett 		6–15, 5–15 Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1969 Norwegian International Eva Twedberg Kurt Johnsson
Karin Lindquist 		15–7, 15–7 Winner
1973 U.S. Open Eva Twedberg Thomas Carmichael
Pam Brady 		18–13, 15–12 Winner
1973 Jamaica International Eva Twedberg Mike Tredgett
Margaret Beck 		15–3, 18–15 Winner
1975 Mexico International Ofelia de Telge Thomas Kihlström
Judianne Kelly 		9–15, 8–15 Runner-up

Summary

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 1973, 1974 Jamaica International
Mixed doubles 1973
1 Men's singles 1972, 1973 U.S. Open
Mixed doubles 1973
1 Men's singles 1972, 1973 Mexico International
1 Men's singles 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977 German Open
1 Men's singles 1972, 1973 Dutch 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 available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.