Flemming Delfs

Flemming Delfs (born 7 September 1951) is a 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.

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 Voorburg Boys' singles 1969 Voorburg Boys' doubles

Career

Delfs is especially noteworthy for winning men's singles^[1] at the first IBF World Championships held in Malmö, Sweden in 1977.^[2] He dominated that same 1976/1977 season by winning nearly all other noteworthy tournaments, including the All-England Championships.^[3] Delfs won three consecutive European men's singles titles in 1976, 1978, and 1980.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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 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

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1979	Tokyo, Japan	Steen Skovgaard	Masao Tsuchida Yoshitaka Iino	13–15, 10–15	Bronze
1980	Kyoto, Japan	Steen Skovgaard	Ade Chandra Christian Hadinata	6–15, 3–15	Silver

European Championships

Men's singles

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

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1974	Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria	Elo Hansen	Willi Braun Roland Maywald	8–15, 6–15	Bronze
1980	Martinihal, Groningen, Netherlands	Steen Skovgaard	Stefan Karlsson Claes Nordin	3–15, 13–18	Bronze

European Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	Sporthal de Vliegermolen, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Netherlands	Preben Boesen	15–0, 15–1	Gold

Boys' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	Sporthal de Vliegermolen, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Netherlands	Hans Røpke	Keith Arthur Ray Stevens	15–9, 10–15, 10–15	Bronze

International tournaments (30 titles, 34 runners-up)

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	5–15, 9–15	Runner-up
1974	Nordic Championships	Svend Pri	15–9, 10–15, 5–15	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
1975	Nordic Championships	Sture Johnsson	6–15, 15–12, 3–15	Runner-up
1975	Norwegian International	Sture Johnsson	15–1, 15–5	Winner
1976	Denmark Open	Svend Pri	15–9, 5–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1976	Dutch Open	Ray Stevens	15–10, 15–1	Winner
1976	German Open	Paul Whetnall	14–17, 10–15	Runner-up
1976	Nordic Championships	Svend Pri	15–4, 15–0	Winner
1976	Norwegian International	Sture Johnsson	4–15, 15–1, 7–15	Runner-up
1977	Swedish Open	Liem Swie King	4–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1977	Canadian 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	Canadian Open	Thomas Kihlström	14–17, 15–11, 18–16	Winner
1978	Nordic Championships	Morten Frost	15–5, 6–15, 4–15	Runner-up
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	Canadian Open	Morten Frost	7–15, 17–14, 7–15	Runner-up
1979	Nordic Championships	Morten Frost	6–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1980	Chinese Taipei Open	Iie Sumirat	15–7, 8–15, 18–16	Winner
1980	Victor Cup	Thomas Kihlström	7–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1981	Nordic Championships	Morten Frost	17–18, 5–15	Runner-up
1982	Scottish Open	Morten Frost	4–15, 2–15	Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Nordic Championships	Jørgen Mortensen	Svend Pri Per Walsøe	8–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1973	Nordic Championships	Elo Hansen	Svend Pri Poul Petersen	16–18, 17–16, 15–10	Winner
1974	Portugal International	Elo Hansen	David Hunt William Kidd	12–15, 15–8, 10–15	Runner-up
1974	Nordic Championships	Elo Hansen	Svend Pri Poul Petersen	10–15, 6–15	Runner-up
1975	Jamaica International	Elo Hansen	Mike Tredgett Ray Stevens	15–13, 4–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1975	Mexico International	Elo Hansen	Sture Johnsson Thomas Kihlström	11–15, 15–13, 15–5	Winner
1975	Nordic Championships	Elo Hansen	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	9–15, 2–15	Runner-up
1975	Norwegian International	Elo Hansen	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	5–15, 15–5, 18–17	Winner
1976	Swedish Open	Elo Hansen	Jesper Helledie Jørgen Mortensen	15–0, 15–2	Winner
1976	Dutch Open	Elo Hansen	Klaus Kaagaard Steen Skovgaard	15–6, 15–12	Winner
1976	Denmark Open	Elo Hansen	David Eddy Eddy Sutton	13–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1976	Norwegian International	Elo Hansen	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	6–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1977	Japan Open	Steen Skovgaard	Nobutaka Ikeda Shoichi Toganoo	15–9, 15–2	Winner
1977	Denmark Open	Steen Skovgaard	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	6–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1977	Nordic Championships	Steen Skovgaard	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	15–4, 12–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1978	Denmark Open	Steen Skovgaard	Ade Chandra Christian Hadinata	15–6, 15–11	Winner
1978	Canadian Open	Steen Skovgaard	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	15–9, 10–15, retired	Runner-up
1978	Swedish Open	Steen Skovgaard	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	15–18, 15–9, 15–8	Winner
1978	Nordic Championships	Steen Skovgaard	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	15–5, 15–9	Winner
1979	Canadian Open	Morten Frost	Ade Chandra Christian Hadinata	5–15, 1–15	Runner-up
1979	Swedish Open	Steen Skovgaard	Steen Fladberg Morten Frost	15–12, 12–15, 15–10	Winner
1979	Nordic Championships	Steen Skovgaard	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	15–13, 11–15, 14–17	Runner-up
1980	Copenhagen Cup	Steen Skovgaard	Steen Fladberg Morten Frost	15–8, 15–6	Winner
1980	Denmark Open	Steen Skovgaard	Ade Chandra Christian Hadinata	15–10, 10–15, 15–10	Winner
1980	Chinese Taipei Open	Steen Skovgaard	Bobby Ertanto Hadibowo	13–18, 5–15	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
1981	Nordic Championships	Steen Skovgaard	Steen Fladberg Morten Frost	9–15, 5–15	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1972	Canadian Open	Pernille Kaagaard	Elliot Stuart Eva Twedberg	15–11, 18–17	Winner
1972	U.S. Open	Pernille Kaagaard	Elliot Stuart Eva Twedberg	15–5, 15–1	Winner
1973	Mexico International	Carlene Starkey	G. Harris Madalene Steinbroner	15–12, 15–1	Winner