Kenneth Jonassen

Kenneth Jonassen
Personal information
CountryDenmark
Born (1974-07-03) 3 July 1974 (age 50)
Herning, Denmark
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight81 kg (179 lb; 12.8 st)
HandednessRight
Men's singles
Highest ranking2 (14 April 2005[1])
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Denmark
Sudirman Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Beijing Mixed team
Thomas Cup
Silver medal – second place 2004 Jakarta Men's team
Silver medal – second place 2006 Sendai & Tokyo Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Hong Kong Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Guangzhou Men's team
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Herning Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 1998 Sofia Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2002 Malmö Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2004 Geneva Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Den Bosch Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Glasgow Men's singles
European Mixed Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Den Bosch Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2000 Glasgow Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2002 Malmö Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2004 Geneva Mixed team
European Men's Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Almere Men's team
Gold medal – first place 2006 Thessalonica Men's team
BWF profile

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]

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 Denmark Peter Gade 8–15, 4–15 Silver Silver
2000 Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, Glasgow, Scotland Denmark Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen 8–15, 15–5, 8–15 Bronze Bronze
2002 Malmö, Sweden Denmark Peter Rasmussen 7–0, 5–7, 7–3, 5–7, 2–7 Silver Silver
2004 Queue d’Arve Sport Center, Geneva, Switzerland Denmark Peter Gade 9–15, 10–15 Silver Silver
2006 Maaspoort Sports and Events, Den Bosch, Netherlands Denmark Peter Gade 19–21, 18–21 Silver Silver
2008 Messecenter, Herning, Denmark Denmark Joachim Persson 21–13, 21–16 Gold 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 Sweden Jesper Olsson 15–2, 5–15, 15–6 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1997 Russian Open Denmark Poul-Erik Høyer 2–15, 2–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2001 U.S. Open South Korea Lee Hyun-il 8–6, 2–7, 2–7, 5–7 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2001 German Open Denmark Niels Christian Kaldau 7–1, 7–8, 8–6, 4–7, 7–5 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2002 Denmark Open China Chen Hong 9–15, 15–9, 6–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2003 Korea Open South Korea Park Tae-sang 15–12, 17–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2004 Dutch Open Denmark Anders Boesen 15–6, 15–6 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2004 Singapore Open Malaysia Lee Chong Wei 3–15, 17–15, 15–4 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2005 Korea Open Denmark Peter Gade 15–7, 4–15, 5–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2005 Thailand Open Malaysia Hafiz Hashim 13–15, 13–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2006 Singapore Open Denmark Peter Gade 10–21, 14–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

IBF International

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1995 Irish Open Sweden Rikard Magnusson 11–15, 2–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1996 Austrian Open England Robert Nock 15–10, 15–4 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1996 Amor Tournament Netherlands Jeroen van Dijk 15–12, 5–15, 10–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1996 Irish Open England Colin Haughton 8–15, 15–4, 15–8 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2001 Austrian Open Denmark Niels Christian Kaldau 15–10, 15–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2002 Irish Open Finland Kasperi Salo 15–10, 15–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2003 Irish Open Denmark Kasper Fangel 15–4, 15–9 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1994 Polish Open Denmark Jan Jorgensen Indonesia Ade Sutrisna
Indonesia Candra Wijaya 		15–11, 8–15, 8–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1998 South Africa International Denmark Jonas Rasmussen South Africa Johan Kleingeld
South Africa Anton Kriel 		15–3, 15–8 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1998 South Africa International South Africa Beverley Meerholz Denmark Jonas Rasmussen
South Africa Meagen Burnett 		5–15, 7–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

References

  1. ^ IBF Historical Ranking - MENS SINGLES[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "(UPDATED) Kenneth Jonassen named national singles badminton coach". New Straits Times. 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  3. ^ "2008 European Championships winners". tournamentsoftware.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-30. Retrieved 2008-04-21.


Stub icon

This biographical article relating to Danish badminton is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.