T

his year’s Djarum Indonesia Open Premier Super Series badminton tournament will be the last for Danish world No. 5 Peter Gade who was ousted in the opening round by the phenomenal performance of Indonesia’s veteran Sony Dwi Kuncoro on Wednesday.

Sony, the world No. 65, has come back strongly after suffering a series of injuries spanning a period of more than two years. Here it took him 55 minutes to overpower the Danish veteran in three games with a score of 14-21, 21-7 and 21-18.

Gade, a Liverpool FC fan, said he had enjoyed his last match with Sony and although it was an opening round match, it was as if the contest was played with the intensity of a final.

“I enjoyed it and I’ll remember it,” the 10-time Copenhagen Masters champion said as quoted by Antara news agency on Thursday.

Last year’s finalist of the Djarum Indonesia Open said he would play in the Japan Open, Denmark Open, French Open and finally in the Copenhagen Open in December before he retires from badminton. He will also appear at the London Olympic Games and hopes to give his best at the quadrennial event.

The former world number one and five-time European champion said Indonesia should preserve the Istora Senayan as a historic badminton venue.

The 1998 IBF World Badminton Player of the Year said the venue should be preserved as a venue for the Indonesia Open, all the more so given the event had been upgraded to Premier Super Series level, which required all the world’s top shuttlers to play in the tournament.

The 36-year-old Gade, who lives in Aalborg, Denmark, said his best moment in the 50-year-old Istora Senayan was when he reached last year’s Open final, where he was defeated by world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.

 “You have so many traditions and memories here. Many top players have played here,” said the 1999 All England champion, adding that he might return to Istora as a coach.