How it unfolded
Men's singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games was expected to be an all-Asian affair. Indonesia, China and Malaysia held the top seeds, and four years earlier in Barcelona all four gold medals had gone to Asian nations. Denmark's finalist, 29-year-old Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen, had been steady on the European circuit and at various opens but was long seen as a player who fell just short on the biggest stages. His opponent was China's Dong Jiong. Under the 15-point service-only scoring system then in use, Hoyer Larsen closed out both games, 15-12 and 15-10, without ever looking troubled. Malaysia's Rashid Sidek took bronze. It was the first time a European player had won Olympic badminton gold. Hoyer Larsen later moved into administration, becoming president of the Badminton World Federation in 2013 and serving as an IOC member.
Why it still matters
This match first showed that Asia's monopoly could be broken. It would take 24 years, until Viktor Axelsen's win at Tokyo 2020, before another European man won Olympic gold in men's singles, but this result was the proof that a Danish program could sustain a place at the world's summit. That the winner went on to lead the sport's governing body, driving World Tour reform and unified serving rules, gives it added weight.