Thomas Kihlström

Thomas Kihlström (born 11 December 1948) is a Swedish retired badminton player known for his agility and tactical astuteness. Though an impressive singles player early in his career, his greatest successes came in men's doubles in partnership with Bengt Fröman and Stefan Karlsson and in mixed doubles with a variety of partners.

Career Kihlström won the 1983 IBF World Championships in mixed doubles with Nora Perry. He also won 16 medals at the European Championships, two of them in men's singles, two in mixed doubles, five in men's doubles and 7 in team competition. He shared two All-England men's doubles titles, one with Bengt Fröman in 1976 and the other with Stefan Karlsson in 1983. He also shared the All-England mixed doubles title with Nora Perry in 1983. From 1973 to 1988, Kihlström captured a total of twenty-four events at the Swedish National Championships. Kihlström competed during an era in which world class badminton became increasingly event-specialized. His skill as an "all-arounder" is demonstrated by the facts that he is the only player to have won medals in all three events, men's singles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles at the BWF World Championships, and is the only man to have won each of these three events at the Japan Open.

Achievements

World Championships Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1977 Malmö Isstadion, Malmö, Sweden Svend Pri 6–15, 6–15 Bronze Bronze

Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1977 Malmö Isstadion, Malmö, Sweden Bengt Fröman Tjun Tjun Johan Wahjudi 7–15, 11–15 Bronze Bronze

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1983 Brøndbyhallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Nora Perry Steen Fladberg Pia Nielsen 15–1, 15–11Gold Gold

World Cup Mixed doubles

World Games Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1981 San Jose Civic Auditorium, California, United States Stefan Karlsson Sun Zhian Yao Ximing 15–12, 4–15, 6–15 Silver Silver

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1981 San Jose Civic Auditorium, California, United States Gillian Gilks Mike Tredgett Nora Perry 15–6, 18–14Gold Gold

European Championships Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1974 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria Sture Johnsson 7–15, 8–15 Silver Silver 1978Guild Hall, Preston, England Flemming Delfs 15–10, 6–15, 12–15 Silver Silver

Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1976 Fitzwilliam Club, Dublin, Ireland Bengt Fröman Eddy Sutton Derek Talbot 13–15, 9–15 Bronze Bronze 1978 Guild Hall, Preston, England Bengt Fröman Ray Stevens Mike Tredgett 6–15, 5–15 Silver Silver 1980 Martinihal, Groningen, Netherlands Bengt Fröman Stefan Karlsson Claes Nordin 16–18, 15–9, 13–15 Silver Silver 1982 Sporthalle, Böblingen, West Germany Stefan Karlsson Mike Tredgett Martin Dew 15–9, 15–3 Gold Gold 1986 Fyrishallen, Uppsala, Sweden Stefan Karlsson Steen Fladberg Jesper Helledie 12–15, 17–18 Silver Silver

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1984 Guild Hall, Preston, England Maria Bengtsson Martin Dew Gillian Gilks 5–15, 15–17 Silver Silver 1986 Fyrishallen, Uppsala, Sweden Maria Bengtsson Martin Dew Gillian Gilks 8–15, 8–15 Bronze Bronze

IBF World Grand Prix The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Men's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 1983 Swedish Open Stefan Karlsson Steen Fladberg Jesper Helledie 15–4, 13–15, 10–15 Runner-up 1983 All England Open Stefan Karlsson Martin Dew Mike Tredgett 15–10, 15–13 Winner 1984 Chinese Taipei Open Stefan Karlsson Steen Fladberg Jesper Helledie 15–3, 15–6 Winner 1984 Japan Open Stefan Karlsson Martin Dew Steve Baddeley 15–6, 15–6 Winner 1984 Swedish Open Stefan Karlsson Kim Moon-soo Park Joo-bong 8–15, 15–10, 8–15 Runner-up 1985 Swedish Open Stefan Karlsson Ding Qiqing Li Yongbo 12–15, 18–14, 15–18 Runner-up

Mixed doubles

International tournaments Men's singles

Men's doubles

Mixed doubles