Jan Ø. Jørgensen quits the national training centre in Denmark and hopes to retire at the Denmark Open in October.

After 12 years at the national training centre, the 2014 European men’s single champion, Jan Ø. Jørgensen, has chosen to stop practising with the Danish national team. The plan is that he will play a few tournaments this autumn before him retires at the Denmark Open in front of his home crowd.

In a press release Badminton Denmark announces that Jørgensen will have his last practice on Wednesday 24 June in Copenhagen before moving to Germany with his wife, who is a professional handball player and former captain for the Danish national team.

Enough is enough
The 32-year old has struggled with injuries in the last five years, and injuries in the hip and the heel have made life hard for Jørgensen.

- I have been fighting to get back to the level I had before the injuries. A lot has happened in men’s singles category since 2017 and the game has developed and my motivation and eagerness have been low lately, Jørgensen said.

- I cannot be honest with myself, when I cannot compete among the best players in the big tournaments. That is what I play for. This decision is not made out of the blue. It hurts every day, and now I cannot stand that anymore, he added.

2014 European Champion
In 2014 at the European Championships Jørgensen beat English Rajiv Ouseph in the final, after defeating countryman Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals. On his way to the victory the European champion beat Brice Leverdez (QF), Dieter Domke (3R) and Michal Rogalski (2R).

Jan Ø. Jørgensen is the only European player to have won the China Open and Indonesia Open, and his impressive resume also counts victories at Thomas Cup, Denmark Open and French Open. In 2015 Jørgensen claimed the bronze medal at the World Championships.

Badminton Europe wishes Jan Ø. Jørgensen good luck in his last international tournaments and a happy retirement.