Svend Pri

Svend Pri (earlier Svend Andersen; March 18, 1945 – June 8, 1983) was a Danish badminton player who won numerous major titles from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s.[1]

Svend Pri
Personal information
Birth name	Svend Andersen
Country	Denmark
Born	(1945-03-18)March 18, 1945 Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	(1983-06-08)June 8, 1983[1]
Handedness	Right
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Denmark World Championships 1977 Malmö Men's Singles European Championships 1974 Vienna Men's Doubles 1980 Groningen Men's Singles

Career

His play was marked by great power, tenacity, and tactical astuteness. Pri competed in badminton at the 1972 Summer Olympics, where badminton was played as a demonstration sport. In men's singles he was defeated in the final by Rudy Hartono 15-6, 15-1. In mixed doubles he played together with Ulla Strand and they were beaten in the final by Derek Talbot and Gillian Gilks 15-6, 18-16.[2] An excellent three event (singles, doubles, mixed doubles) player, the high points of his career were probably two dramatic singles victories over the iconic Rudy Hartono, one in the Challenge Round of Thomas Cup (Denmark v. Indonesia) in 1973,[3] the other in the final of the All-Englands in 1975.[4] He won a silver medal in the 1977 IBF World Championships in men's singles, losing against Flemming Delfs in the final 15-5, 15-6.[5]

Death

Experiencing personal difficulty in coping with family and financial problems in the wake of his badminton career, Pri took his own life in June 1983 at the age of 38.[6][1]

Achievements

Olympic Games (demonstration)

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1972	Munich, West Germany	Rudy Hartono	6–15, 1–15	Silver

World Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1977	Malmö Isstadion, Malmö, Sweden	Flemming Delfs	5–15, 6–15	Silver

European Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1980	Groningen, Netherlands			Bronze

International tournaments

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1966	London Championships	Erland Kops	15–0, 15–7	Winner
1966	Swedish Open			Winner
1966	Denmark Open	Knud Aage Nielsen	15–3, 15–9	Winner
1967	Swedish Open	Erland Kops		Winner
1968	Swedish Open			Winner
1969	Swedish Open	Sture Johnsson	15–18, 15–12, 15–10	Winner
1969	Denmark Open	Tom Bacher	15–5, 15–7	Winner
1969	German Open	Jørgen Mortensen		Winner
1970	Swedish Open	Sture Johnsson		Winner
1970	All England	Rudy Hartono	7–15, 1–15	Runner-up
1971	Dutch Open	Elo Hansen	10–15, 15–11, 15–10	Winner
1971	Norwegian International	Erland Kops	15–10, 15–10	Winner
1972	Swedish Open	Sture Johnsson	15–2, 15–6	Winner
1972	Denmark Open	Ippei Kojima	15–9, 15–5	Winner
1972	All England	Rudy Hartono	9–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1973	Swedish Open			Winner
1973	India Open	Flemming Delfs	15–8, 15–7	Winner
1974	Dutch Open	Sture Johnsson		Winner
1975	Swedish Open	Sture Johnsson		Winner
1975	Denmark Open	Rudy Hartono	15–12, 0–15, 7–15	Runner-up
1975	All England	Rudy Hartono	15–11, 17–14	Winner
1976	Denmark Open	Flemming Delfs	9–15, 15–5, 15–10	Winner
1977	Denmark Open	Flemming Delfs	12–15, 7–15	Runner-up
1978	Swedish Open	Flemming Delfs	15–3, 15–8	Winner
1978	Dutch Open	Flemming Delfs	3–15, 15–3, 7–15	Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1966	London Championships	Erland Kops	D.O. Fulton Roger Mills	9–15, 15–7, 15–12	Winner
1966	Canadian Open	Yew Cheng Hoe	Tan Yee Khan Ng Boon Bee	15–12, 1–15, 14–17	Runner-up
1967	Swedish Open	Per Walsøe	Henning Borch Erland Kops		Winner
1967	All England	Per Walsøe	Henning Borch Erland Kops	8–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1969	Swedish Open	Erland Kops	Tony Jordan Roger Mills	15–13, 8–15, 15–11	Winner
1970	Swedish Open	Per Walsøe	Poul Peterson Elo Hansen		Winner
1970	Denmark Open	Per Walsøe	Henning Borch Erland Kops		Runner-up
1971	Swedish Open	Per Walsøe	Henning Borch Erland Kops		Winner
1971	Dutch Open	Erland Kops	Derek Talbot Elliot Stuart	15–11, 15–5	Winner
1972	Swedish Open	Erland Kops	Per Walsøe Poul Petersen	15–4, 9–15, 15–12	Winner
1972	Dutch Open	Erland Kops			Winner
1973	Swedish Open	Poul Peterson			Winner
1976	All England	Steen Skovgaard	Thomas Kihlström Bengt Fröman	12–15, 15–17	Runner-up
1978	Dutch Open	Jesper Helledie	Mike Tredgett Ray Stevens	9–15, 15–1, 15–5	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1966	London Championships	Iris Rogers	Tony Jordan Angela Bairstow	4–15, 15–10, 5–15	Runner-up
1967	All England	Ulla Strand	Pernille Mølgaard Hansen Per Walsøe	15–2, 15–10	Winner
1968	Swedish Open	Ulla Strand			Winner
1971	Denmark Open	Ulla Strand	Ray Stevens Barbara Hood	15–13, 15–11	Winner
1971	All England	Ulla Strand	Derek Talbot Gillian Gilks	15–12, 8–15, 15–11	Winner
1971	Dutch Open	Ulla Strand	Derek Talbot Gillian Gilks	4–15, 15–6, 16–17	Runner-up
1972	Swedish Open	Ulla Strand	David Eddy Gillian Gilks	10-15, 8–15	Runner-up
1972	Denmark Open	Ulla Strand	Wolfgang Bochow Marieluise Wackerow	7–15, 15–13, 10–15	Runner-up
1972	All England	Ulla Strand	Derek Talbot Gillian Gilks	12–15, 15–8, 15–12	Winner

References

1. Fink, Lars (11 March 2020). "Fighteren der fik ondt i livet" (in Danish). TV 2. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
2. Davis, 116.
3. Pat Davis, The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. 1983) 125.
4. Davis, 93.
5. Davis, 109.
6. "Change of court for Rudy Hartono".

External links

• Svend Pri's Profile - Badminton.dk