Petr Koukal (badminton)

Petr Koukal (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpɛtr̩ ˈkoukal]; born December 14, 1985) is a Czech professional badminton player.

This article is about badminton player. For ice hockey player, see Petr Koukal (ice hockey).
Petr Koukal
Personal information
Country Czech Republic
Born (1985-12-14) December 14, 1985
Hořovice
Men's singles
Highest ranking38 (23 Sep 2010)
Current ranking87 (17 Nov 2016)
BWF profile

Biography

Koukal started playing badminton in 1993, at a club owned by his father in Hořovice, and made his debut in the international tournament in 2000.[1] In 2003 he was selected to join the national team, and at the same year, he won the mixed doubles title at the national championships partnered with Markéta Koudelková. Until 2016, he has collected 9 national titles, where 8 of them won in the men's singles event.[1][2] Koukal first competed at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.[3]

In 2010, Koukal was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent a successful therapy.[3][4] He was awarded 2011 Fair Play Award, in Brno, Czech Republic.[1] In July 2012, Czech Olympic Committee announced selection of Koukal for flag bearer of Czech team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, citing him as an example of sport role in recovery from a grave illness and of return to competition at top level.[3][5][6]

In 2016, Petr Koukal was awarded as the secondary recipient of the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award for his commitment and help to men with testicular cancer through his foundation. In May 2016, his spouse is Czech biathlete Gabriela Soukalová.[7] He made his third appearance at the Summer Olympics through the Tripartite Commission Invitation.[3][8]

Achievements

BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix has two levels: Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.

Men's Singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2014 U.S. Grand Prix Hsu Jen-hao 19–21, 21–19, 8–21 Runner-up
     BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
     BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

Men's Singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2011 Czech International Przemyslaw Wacha 19–21, 16–21 Runner-up
2011 Slovak Open Hubert Paczek 21–11, 21–15 Winner
2009 Czech International Dmytro Zavadsky 21–17, 21–19 Winner
2007 Iceland International Marco Vasconcelos 21–17, 21–16 Winner
2007 Turkey International Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21–23, 15–21 Runner-up
2007 Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse Przemyslaw Wacha 13–21, 17–21 Runner-up
2007 Hatzor International Sho Sasaki 15–21, 16–21 Runner-up
2006 Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse Ville Lång 18–21, 15–21 Runner-up
2004 Lithuanian International Rafal Hawel 15–3, 13–15, 4–15 Runner-up

Mixed Doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2004 Lithuanian International Martina Benešová Stanislav Kohoutek
Akvilė Stapušaitytė		 15–3, 15–13 Winner
     BWF International Challenge tournament
     BWF International Series tournament

Other
  • 2006 - Spanish International: Men's singles (quarter final)
  • 2006 - Austrian International: Men's singles (quarter final)
  • 2006 - Austrian International: Mixed doubles (quarter final)
  • 2005 - Hungarian International: Men's singles (semi final)
  • 2005 - Babolat Slovak International: Men's singles (semi final)
  • 2005 - Babolat Slovak International: Mixed doubles (semi final)
  • 2003 - Slovenia International: Mixed doubles (quarter final)
  • 2003 - Slovak International: Mixed doubles (quarter final)
  • 2003 - Czech International: Mixed doubles (quarter final)
  • 2003 - Sofiisk Imoti JSC Bulgarian International: Mixed doubles (semi final)
  • 2002 - Slovak International: Mixed doubles (quarter final)

References
  1. "Players: Petr Koukal". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  2. "Czech Republic: Cesky Badmintonovy Svaz". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  3. "Petr Koukal: "When I think back to carrying the flag in London, I still get goosebumps."". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  4. "Badminton: Petr Koukal overcomes cancer to compete at London 2012". The Independent. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  5. Michal Osoba (2012-07-03). "Odtajněno: českou vlajku v Londýně ponese badmintonista Koukal". Právo (in Czech). Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  6. "Badmintonista Koukal porazil rakovinu a bude vlajkonošem olympijské výpravy". Czech Olympic Committee (in Czech). 2012-07-03. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  7. "Sportovní svatba roku: Koukal a Soukalová se tajně vzali" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  8. "Trio Get Rio 2016 Tripartite Places". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
Olympic Games
Preceded by
Štěpánka Hilgertová		 Flagbearer for  Czech Republic
London 2012		 Succeeded by
Lukáš Krpálek


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