Rudy Hartono Kurniawan was born August 18, 1949) is a former Indonesian badminton star who won the men's singles title at the World Championships in 1980, and the prestigious All-England Championships
trophy eight times, seven times consecutively (1968–1974), in the 1960s
and 1970s. He is one of the most famous players in the history of the
sport. His sister is also a former world-level badminton player, Utami Dewi Kinard.
Badminton Career
During his prime years Hartono won men's singles in most of the
international tournaments that he entered. He also played on six
consecutive Indonesian Thomas Cup (men's international) teams between 1967 and 1982, the first of these when he was only seventeen, helping Indonesia to win four consecutive world team championships ( 1970, 1973, 1976, 1979 ) in what was then a triennial event. His game was characterized by great
power, accuracy, agility, mobility, aggressiveness, and coolness under
pressure. In 1997 he was among the first group of players inducted into
the World Badminton Hall of Fame.
1972 Summer Olympics
Hartono competed in badminton at the 1972 Summer Olympics, where badminton was one of two demonstrstion sports.
It was the first time that the sport was part of the Olympic program,
and it would become an official Olympic sport 20 years later at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
He won the men's singles event, after beating Jamie Paulson of Canada in the first round, Sture Johnson of Sweden in the semifinals, and Svend Pri of Denmark in the final 15–6, 15–1.
