The 45-year-old Dane, who first joined the British set up as the World Class Start Programme head coach in 2000 before becoming World Class Futures head coach in 2005, leaves after three years in the role and a total of 11 years in two spells with Badminton England.

"It is with great sadness that I have decided to step down," Grill said.

"I plan to take a complete break from the sport.

"I feel it is best to leave now so that my successor has the right amount of time to shape our Olympic programme [for Rio 2016].

"They will arrive to find a strong coaching infrastructure and a talented squad of both experienced and emerging players and I hope they get as much pleasure out of the job as I have.

"Most importantly, they will find that a secure Olympic funding programme is firmly in place as we work towards Rio 2016."

Jens Grill oversaw the rise of Rajiv Ouseph to European silver medallist ©Getty Images


Since becoming performance director in April 2011, Grill has seen a number of players develop into world class athletes, including Rajiv Ouseph, who claimed silver at last week's European Championships, while the England men's squad won the silver medal at the European Team Championships in February.

He has also seen Chris Adcock and Andy Ellis as world top 10s, as well as leading Chris and Gabby Adcock to number five in the world after their recent success in Hong Kong where they won their first World Superseries title.

"A number of our players will have key roles at this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the World Championships in Copenhagen and I will continue to keep a close eye on the progress of the whole group," Grill added.

"Rest assured, before I depart in early July I will make sure everything is in place for the squad to be ready to meet those challenges."

Adrian Christy, the chief executive of Badminton England, admitted he is "very disappointed" to be losing Grill but insisted the national governing body will immediately focus on securing somebody to take the programme into the Rio 2016 Olympic campaign.

"The energy and commitment Jens has invested into the England and GB World Class Performance Programme has been world class in itself and he should be very proud of not just the achievements of the programme during his time with us but the position that he leaves for his successor as we look ahead to Rio in 2016 and beyond," Christy added.

"It has been a privilege to work with Jens and I have nothing but respect for him.

"He deserves a well-earned rest before taking on the opportunities that will lie ahead for him."

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