The Czech referee died yesterday after a long illness at the age of 57. Even though he lost his severe battle with cancer, Ivan will always be remembered in the badminton circles as a relentless and brave character.

After the former president of the Czech Badminton Federation, long-time referee, umpire and official had been diagnosed with cancer several years ago, he never gave up. On the contrary, he continued to pursue his dream and in September 2015 successfully passed the assessment towards the BWF Accredited Referee level which gave him the chance to officiate at some of the big tournaments, including the 14th World University Championships (September 2016) or the recent YONEX German Open 2017. 

At the same time, he continued to officiate at the domestic events and work for the Czech Badminton Federation as the Chair of the Sports-Technical Committee. There he would educate the upcoming technical officials of his country and handle the regulations. Ivan’s contribution to the field is tremendous.

His friends and colleagues both at home and worldwide are going to miss him, but more importantly, he will always be remembered for “enjoying badminton” until the very end.