Career
The crowning achievement of his career was winning the Men's Singles at the 1997 IBF World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the first time a Dane and a non- Asian player captured that title since Flemming Delfs won at the first-ever IBF World Championships held in Sweden in 1977. The Men's Finals in 1997 is regarded as one of the best badminton matches played ever because of both the duration and quality of the match. In the end, Peter Rasmussen's opponent, Sun Jun of China cramped up and could barely continue. Rasmussen capitalized on the opportunity and closed out his three game victory, 16-17, 18-13, 15-10.
Rasmussen has often been called Den Hvide Kineser or The White Chinaman. This is not only due to his playing style which featured speedy footwork and powerful jump-smashes (typically a hallmark of Chinese badminton players), but also because of his spiritual interests. He educated himself in acupuncture and practiced it to help overcome injures. He studied Miyamoto Musashi and believed in a philosophy of strategy, rather than one of results which he saw as predominant among elite players.
Rasmussen suffered a career ending foot injury on 25 September 2004, during the Men's Singles Final of the 2004 U.S. Open (badminton). He was forced to retire while leading the score 12-7 in the first game against Lee Yen Hui Kendrick. He attempted to rehabilitate but on 9 February 2005 he announced his retirement from international competition due to lack of progress.
The final match he played for the Danish national team was in the 2004 Thomas Cup semi-finals. Denmark and Indonesia were tied 2-2, and Peter Rasmussen vs Simon Santoso would decide who advanced to the finals against China. Rasmussen won the match in straight sets, 15-3, 15-12. Rasmussen considers this match, in front of 12,000 Indonesian spectators, to be the highlight of his career.
Peter Rasmussen was sponsored by Carlton, which marketed a lineup of racquets bearing his name, including the Rasmussen Titanium, Rasmussen Lite, Rasmussen Superlite, and the Rasmussen Tour. His racquet of choice was the Rasmussen Superlite. Due to his retirement, the Rasmussen lineup has reverted to the previous designation of Airblade. Prior to introducing this lineup of rackets, he used the Carlton AS-1 Ti.
Upon his retirement, Rasmussen set his sights on finishing his degree in medicine. He was also thinking about creating a website about his mental approach to badminton.
Read more about this topic: Peter Rasmussen (badminton)
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