Wong Peng Soon, MBESK (simplified Chinese: 黄秉璇; traditional Chinese: 黃秉璇; pinyin: Huáng Bǐng Xuán; 17 February 1917 – 22 May 1996) was a Malayan/Singaporeanbadminton player who reigned as a top player in Malaya from the 1930s to the 1950s when it was a single nation. Noted for his smooth but powerful strokes and graceful footwork,[4][5] he won the singles title seven times in Singapore and eight times in Malaya during this period, as well as being the top player in the All England, the Danish Open, the Indian and Philippines championships to name a few.
Acknowledged as one of the greatest badminton players of all time,[1][6] he won the All England singles title four times in only five attempts and dominated the Thomas Cup in the late 1940s to the mid 1950s as a member of the Malayan teams.[1] Wong's great rival during his career was his contemporary Ong Poh Lim.[7]
Early life
Wong was born into a large and wealthy family in Johor Bahru, Malaya. He was the seventh son of Mr Wong Ah Yam and Madam Mak Qui Tong. His granduncle is Wong Ah Fook,[8] who was a good friend of Sultan Abu Bakar and was the contractor responsible for the construction of Istana Besar. Wong has nine brothers and seven sisters. Of his siblings, five brothers and a sister were also prominent Johore badminton players.[9] The family stayed in a mansion at Jalan Ah Siang, Johor Bahru.
Badminton career
Having grown up in a family with a love for badminton, Wong started playing the sport since young. His career began when he joined Mayflower Badminton Party[10] in Singapore as a teenager, and went on to win numerous club and interstate competitions. He excelled in the singles event and quickly rose to become a household name in Singapore and Malaya.
In 1938, Wong won his first Singapore Open singles title and went on to win the tournament six more times in 1939, 1941, 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1951.[1] In addition to his singles success, he also secured four men's doubles titles in 1938 with Chan Chim Bock,[11] in 1947 with Wong Chong Teck,[12] and in 1948 and 1949 with Teoh Peng Hooi.[13][14] Additionally, he teamed up with his sister, Waileen Wong to claim three mixed doubles titles in 1939,[15] 1948[16] and 1949.[17] With a total of 14 combined titles, Wong was the second most successful male shuttler in the competition's history, trailing only behind rival, Ong Poh Lim.
Wong captured his first two Malaysia Open singles titles in 1940[18] and 1941[19] before a hiatus due to World War II interrupted his career until 1947, when he reclaimed the crown.[20] He then went on an impressive streak, winning five consecutive titles from 1949 to 1953.[21] His eight Malaysian singles titles were also a long-standing international circuit record jointly held by the legendary Rudy Hartono (eight-time All England champion) and Morten Frost (eight-time Denmark Open champion) till it was surpassed by Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in 2013.[22] Wong also triumphed in three mixed doubles events in 1937 and 1938 with his sister, Waileen Wong,[23][24] and in 1940 with Lee Chee Neo.[18]
In 1950, he became the first Asian to win the All-England men's singles championship, and won the title again in 1951, 1952, and 1955, earning him an international reputation as the "Great Wong".[25][26] He was also a member of the victorious Malayan Thomas Cup teams of 1949, 1952, and 1955,[27] serving as captain of the last.[2][28] His achievements in 1955 were remarkable because he was 38 years old at the time, an age by which most badminton players were considered past their prime.[29]
Wong also won the Surrey Open men's doubles title alongside Englishman Noel Radford,[30] and both the men's singles and doubles titles at the Scotland championships, again with Radford in 1950.[31] Additionally, he claimed the Denmark Open men's singles title in 1951,[32] and triumphed in the Bombay Open men's singles and doubles events with Abdullah Piruz in the same year.[33][34] Wong also secured the men's singles title at the Selangor Open,[35] along with winning both the men's singles and doubles titles at the Philippines Open with Cheong Hock Leng in 1952.[36]
Wong retired from competitive badminton after the 1955 Thomas Cup.[37] He became a badminton coach for the Singapore Youth Sports Centre.[38] He also coached the Malayan team in its bid to retain the Thomas Cup in 1958, when Malaya lost the title to Indonesia.[39] Wong later took up coaching stints in Thailand, Canada, India and Japan, as well as at the Haarlem Badminton Club of Holland in 1966.[40]
Professionalism
Wong was an advocate of strong work ethic, physical fitness, and mental preparation. He will cycle from Johor to Singapore just for training even though it was many kilometers away.[8][41] He was a disciplinarian who adhered to a routine of rigorous training that included sessions of skipping lasting more than an hour.[42] Wong always studied his opponents before playing against them.[1] He was renowned for maintaining a strict diet and he never stayed out late in the evening.[1][41] He was also known for his meticulous care of his equipment, often going to the extent of personally stringing and fixing his own rackets.[1][43]
Personal life
Wong married Doreen Poi Chim Neo at a church in Seremban on 3 August 1947[44] and moved to Singapore shortly after.[1] They lived at a single-storey home in Jalan Jarak, Seletar Hills[41] and had two daughters and a son.[1]
In 1981, Wong suffered a stroke which left him partially paralysed. Although he regained mobility, his health slowly declined thereafter.[45]
Death
Wong died on 22 May 1996 at Toa Payoh Hospital, Singapore, at the age of 79, due to pneumonia.[3] His wake was attended by the officials from Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) as well as then Minister for Community Development, Abdullah Tarmugi.[46] A one-hour Mass was also held at the Church of St Vincent de Paul where Wong had worshipped. More than 150 relatives and friends gathered to bid a final farewell to Wong at the Mount Vernon Crematorium where he was cremated.[47]
Three years after his death, the International Badminton Federation (IBF) inducted him into its Hall of Fame posthumously in May 1999.[54] Then chairman of the IBF, H R Ward, commented, that "Wong was one of the most remarkable players" and "had enhanced the sport through exceptional achievements". In a Straits Times poll of 2000, Wong was voted as Singapore's "Sports Personality of the Century".[55] The Olympic Council of Malaysia inducted Wong into its Hall of Fame in 2004.[56]
^Suk-wai Cheong, Sound Of Memories, The: Recordings From The Oral History Centre, Singapore (National Archives Singapore & World Scientific, Singapore, 2019) 218 - 219.
