Thomas Kihlström (born 11 December 1948) is a Swedish

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player. He is known for his agility, tactical astuteness, and coolness under pressure. Though an impressive singles player early in his career, his greatest successes came in doubles. Partnering Stefan Karlsson, they were one of the top doubles pairs in their era.

Career

Kihlström won the

1983 IBF World Championships The 1983 IBF World Championships (World Badminton Championships) were held in 1983 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Medalists Medal table Events References External links First roundSecond roundThird roundQuarterfinals
{{World badminton champs ...

in mixed doubles with Nora Perry. He also won 16 medals at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, 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.Davis, 107, 108. 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 The BWF World Championships is a badminton tournament organized by the Badminton World Federation. It's the most prestigious badminton competition, offering the most ranking points, along with the Summer Olympics badminton events introduced in ...

, and is the only man to have won each of these three events at the Japan Open.

Achievements

World Championships

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

World Cup

''Mixed doubles''

World Games

''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

European Championships

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006. ''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

International tournaments

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kihlstrom, Thomas 1948 births Living people Swedish male badminton players World Games medalists in badminton World Games gold medalists for Sweden World Games silver medalists for Sweden Medalists at the 1981 World Games 20th-century Swedish sportsmen