Alan Parsons is a former badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

 player from South Africa. Between 1959 and 1974 he won twenty-four South African national titles

South African Badminton Championships

The South African Badminton Championships is an annual badminton tournament held in South Africa since 1937.-Previous winners:-References:*...

; nine in singles (including eight in succession from 1964 through 1971), nine in men's doubles, and six in mixed doubles. He won the German Open

German Open (badminton)

The German Open is an annual badminton tournament held in Germany since 1955 and organized by German Badminton Association or Deustcher Badminton Verband ....

 singles title in 1965 and the Irish Open singles title in 1967. Parsons was a leading member of the South African Thomas Cup

Thomas Cup

The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation , the sport's global governing body...

 team which reached the European zone final before losing to Denmark

Denmark national badminton team

The Denmark national badminton team is a badminton team located in Denmark and represents the nation of Denmark in international badminton team competitions...

 in 1967

1967 Thomas Cup

The 1967 Thomas Cup was the 7th tournament of Thomas Cup, the most important men's badminton team competition in the world. The inter-zone matches and Challenge Round finale were held in Jakarta, Indonesia....

.