Kenneth Jonassen

Kenneth Jonassen (born 3 July 1974) is a Danish badminton coach and former player, who won Danish national and international titles during the first decade of the 21st century. The big, hard fighting Dane was often ranked among the top few singles players of that era, but was rather overshadowed by his fellow countryman Peter Gade. He has served the singles head coach of the Malaysia national badminton team since 4 January 2025.^[2]

Kenneth Jonassen
Personal information
Country	Denmark
Born	(1974-07-03) 3 July 1974 (age 51) Herning, Denmark
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	81 kg (179 lb; 12.8 st)
Handedness	Right
Men's singles
Highest ranking	2 (14 April 2005[1])
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Denmark Sudirman Cup 2005 Beijing Mixed team Thomas Cup 2004 Jakarta Men's team 2006 Sendai & Tokyo Men's team 1998 Hong Kong Men's team 2000 Kuala Lumpur Men's team 2002 Guangzhou Men's team European Championships 2008 Herning Men's singles 1998 Sofia Men's singles 2002 Malmö Men's singles 2004 Geneva Men's singles 2006 Den Bosch Men's singles 2000 Glasgow Men's singles European Mixed Team Championships 1998 Den Bosch Mixed team 2000 Glasgow Mixed team 2002 Malmö Mixed team 2004 Geneva Mixed team European Men's Team Championships 2008 Almere Men's team 2006 Thessalonica Men's team
BWF profile

He played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles, losing in the round of 32 to Chen Hong of China. Jonassen reached the quarterfinals of several Badminton World Championships but never quite made it to the medal rounds.

He won the gold medal at the 2008 European Badminton Championships, late in his career.^[3] This, along with victories in the 2003 Korea Open and the 2004 Singapore Open were perhaps his most impressive achievements.

Major achievements

European Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1998	Winter Sports Palace, Sofia, Bulgaria	Peter Gade	8–15, 4–15	Silver
2000	Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, Glasgow, Scotland	Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen	8–15, 15–5, 8–15	Bronze
2002	Malmö, Sweden	Peter Rasmussen	7–0, 5–7, 7–3, 5–7, 2–7	Silver
2004	Queue d’Arve Sport Center, Geneva, Switzerland	Peter Gade	9–15, 10–15	Silver
2006	Maaspoort Sports and Events, Den Bosch, Netherlands	Peter Gade	19–21, 18–21	Silver
2008	Messecenter, Herning, Denmark	Joachim Persson	21–13, 21–16	Gold

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	French Open	Jesper Olsson	15–2, 5–15, 15–6	Winner
1997	Russian Open	Poul-Erik Høyer	2–15, 2–15	Runner-up
2001	U.S. Open	Lee Hyun-il	8–6, 2–7, 2–7, 5–7	Runner-up
2001	German Open	Niels Christian Kaldau	7–1, 7–8, 8–6, 4–7, 7–5	Winner
2002	Denmark Open	Chen Hong	9–15, 15–9, 6–15	Runner-up
2003	Korea Open	Park Tae-sang	15–12, 17–15	Winner
2004	Dutch Open	Anders Boesen	15–6, 15–6	Winner
2004	Singapore Open	Lee Chong Wei	3–15, 17–15, 15–4	Winner
2005	Korea Open	Peter Gade	15–7, 4–15, 5–15	Runner-up
2005	Thailand Open	Hafiz Hashim	13–15, 13–15	Runner-up
2006	Singapore Open	Peter Gade	10–21, 14–21	Runner-up

IBF International

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1995	Irish Open	Rikard Magnusson	11–15, 2–15	Runner-up
1996	Austrian Open	Robert Nock	15–10, 15–4	Winner
1996	Amor Tournament	Jeroen van Dijk	15–12, 5–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1996	Irish Open	Colin Haughton	8–15, 15–4, 15–8	Winner
2001	Austrian Open	Niels Christian Kaldau	15–10, 15–7	Winner
2002	Irish Open	Kasperi Salo	15–10, 15–10	Winner
2003	Irish Open	Kasper Fangel	15–4, 15–9	Winner

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1994	Polish Open	Jan Jorgensen	Ade Sutrisna Candra Wijaya	15–11, 8–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1998	South Africa International	Jonas Rasmussen	Johan Kleingeld Anton Kriel	15–3, 15–8	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1998	South Africa International	Beverley Meerholz	Jonas Rasmussen Meagen Burnett	5–15, 7–15	Runner-up