Danish badminton great Kops dies at age 80

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Erland Kops, a Danish badminton great who won the All England tournament seven times in singles and four times in doubles, has died. He was 80.

The Badminton World Federation says Saturday that "the great badminton legend Erland Kops passed away overnight." The statement did not give a cause of death or say where Kops died.

Kops' All England victories came in the 1950s and 1960s, with his first singles title in 1958.

He was Nordic singles champion five times in the 1960s, and he also won the Danish title five times in singles and four in doubles.

Kops was inducted to the BWF Hall of Fame in 1997 and he received the federation's Lifetime Achievement award last year.

The BWF says Kops was the first European to win titles in the Far East.