The world No. 6 men's singles badminton player Kenneth Jonassen said he would end his career in mid December after losing his third Olympic Games on Monday.
"It is time to end my career. I have two more Super Series in Denmark and France in October, and after that I will quit in mid December," said the 34-year-old Danish player.
He lost to Lee Hyunil from South Korea, who ranks No. 10 at 21-15, 14-21, 19-21 in the round of 32 at the Beijing Olympics.
"We were 19-19 in the third game and it could go either way. Lee was good at the net and small things," regretted Jonassen.
It was the third Olympic Games for Jonassen, who lost in the round of 32 to Chen Hong of China at the Athens Games and eliminated before reaching quarterfinals in the Sydney Games.
"I usually get unfortunate draws at Olympic Games. Nobody wants to play with such a strong player as Lee Hyunil in the first round, and last time I played with Chen Hong," said Jonassen.
On his part, Lee Hyunil said "in the third game, my opponent made a lot of unforced errors. It got easier for me to get points."
"I paid much attention to the accuracy of my smashes in the last two games," Lee added.
(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2008)