<p>Peter Gade has brought down the curtain on his prolific career happy in the knowledge Danish badminton is in the hands of several promising young compatriots. </p>.<p>Gade battled, seemingly single-handedly at times, to hold back the tide of Asian dominance for over a decade and the five-time European champion and former world number one said he was at peace with how his career came to a close. <br /><br />“It was a great battle and the right way to finish. Instead of losing to an unknown, I lost to Jan (Jorgensen), and I’m fine with that. The baton is hereby passed,” the 35-year-old told reporters at the Paris Open. <br /><br />Gade, who topped the world rankings from 1998 to 2001 before a brief return to number one in 2006, lost in the quarterfinals to compatriot Jorgensen but stayed in Paris where he was honoured by tournament organisers at Sunday’s final. <br /><br />He will make one final appearance in front of his home crowd when he takes on Olympic champion Lin Dan in Copenhagen in December as a curtain-raiser for the Danish Masters tournament. <br /><br />National team coach Lars Uhre believes the country’s future is secure in the hands of its young players. <br /><br />“Gade will be missed, but in Viktor Axelsen, Jan Jorgensen and Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, Denmark has three world-class players. I think the future looks exciting,” said Uhre. <br />Jorgensen was placed 11th in last week’s rankings with Vittinghus 17th and teenager Axelsen 31st. <br /><br />The current top 10 contains four Chinese players, two Japanese and one from each of Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam. <br /><br />Axelsen, 18, lost the Paris Open final to Malaysia’s 24th-ranked Daren Liew but he can expect to move up in the world rankings when they are updated on Thursday. <br />“I’m happy that already I can give the world’s best a good fight,” said Axelsen.</p>
<p>Peter Gade has brought down the curtain on his prolific career happy in the knowledge Danish badminton is in the hands of several promising young compatriots. </p>.<p>Gade battled, seemingly single-handedly at times, to hold back the tide of Asian dominance for over a decade and the five-time European champion and former world number one said he was at peace with how his career came to a close. <br /><br />“It was a great battle and the right way to finish. Instead of losing to an unknown, I lost to Jan (Jorgensen), and I’m fine with that. The baton is hereby passed,” the 35-year-old told reporters at the Paris Open. <br /><br />Gade, who topped the world rankings from 1998 to 2001 before a brief return to number one in 2006, lost in the quarterfinals to compatriot Jorgensen but stayed in Paris where he was honoured by tournament organisers at Sunday’s final. <br /><br />He will make one final appearance in front of his home crowd when he takes on Olympic champion Lin Dan in Copenhagen in December as a curtain-raiser for the Danish Masters tournament. <br /><br />National team coach Lars Uhre believes the country’s future is secure in the hands of its young players. <br /><br />“Gade will be missed, but in Viktor Axelsen, Jan Jorgensen and Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, Denmark has three world-class players. I think the future looks exciting,” said Uhre. <br />Jorgensen was placed 11th in last week’s rankings with Vittinghus 17th and teenager Axelsen 31st. <br /><br />The current top 10 contains four Chinese players, two Japanese and one from each of Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam. <br /><br />Axelsen, 18, lost the Paris Open final to Malaysia’s 24th-ranked Daren Liew but he can expect to move up in the world rankings when they are updated on Thursday. <br />“I’m happy that already I can give the world’s best a good fight,” said Axelsen.</p>