Wong Choong Hann AMN (simplified Chinese: 黄综翰; traditional Chinese: 黃綜翰; pinyin: Huáng Zònghàn; born 17 February 1977) is a former badminton player from Malaysia.[1] He was the first Malaysian to win a medal in the men's singles event at the BWF World Championships.[2] He resigned as the coaching director for the Malaysia national badminton team in June 2023.[3]

Wong Choong Hann
黄综翰
Personal information
CountryMalaysia
Born (1977-02-17) 17 February 1977 (age 47)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Years active1996–2012
HandednessLeft
Men's singles
Highest ranking1 (15 August 2002)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Malaysia
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2003 Birmingham Men's singles
Thomas Cup
Silver medal – second place 1998 Hong Kong Men's team
Silver medal – second place 2002 Guangzhou Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Sendai & Tokyo Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Jakarta Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Men's singles
Gold medal – first place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Men's doubles
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Bangkok Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Busan Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha Men's team
Asia Cup
Silver medal – second place 1997 Jakarta Men's team
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Gold medal – first place 2005 Manila Men's team
Silver medal – second place 1999 Bandar Seri Begawan Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 1999 Bandar Seri Begawan Men's team
Silver medal – second place 2003 Vietnam Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Vietnam Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Manila Men's doubles
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Kuala Lumpur Boys' doubles
BWF profile

Career edit

Wong Choong Hann's career began with the 1996 Malaysia Open. The first tournament he won was the 1997 Dutch Open. He represented Malaysia in 2002, where Malaysia emerged runners-up to Indonesia in the Thomas Cup championships.

In 2003, Wong reached the World Championships finals. In a thrilling three-set match between the veterans (both he and his opponent were above 24 years old then), he eventually lost out to the champion from China, Xia Xuanze.

Wong played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles, defeating Przemysław Wacha of Poland in the first round. In the round of 16, he was defeated by Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.

The low point of his career occurred during the 2006 Thomas Cup when he injured himself by snapping an achilles tendon while playing in a quarter final match against South Korea, and was required to rest for almost 6 months. He made a comeback to the sport in the Asian Games later in 2006 but was clearly off form.

In the 2008 Summer Olympics he defeated reigning Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat but once again failed to advance past the round of 16, losing to Hsieh Yu-hsing of Chinese Taipei.

He has set up a company "Pioneer Sdn Bhd" with former shuttlers Lee Wan Wah, Chan Chong Ming, and Chew Choon Eng to conduct badminton programmes and hopefully produce world-class shuttlers for Malaysia.

In May 2010, Wong was called back to play for the Malaysian Thomas Cup squad.

In 2011 he played his last world championship, where he lost to Boonsak Ponsana in the second round.

Personal life edit

Wong Choong Hann married Leaw Pik Sim on 11 June 2005. They have a daughter, named Kyra Wong Xinyue, and a son, named Kayden Wong Zixuan. He currently resides in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur. In September 2012, he co-founded LavieFlo International—the first preserved flower retailer in Malaysia.[4][5]

Achievements edit

World Championships edit

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2003 National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England   Xia Xuanze 6–15, 15–13, 6–15   Silver

Commonwealth Games edit

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1998 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia   Yong Hock Kin 10–15, 15–12, 15–6   Gold
2002 Bolton Arena, Manchester, England   Muhammad Hafiz Hashim 8–6, 6–8, 0–7, 8–7, 3–7   Bronze
2006 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia   Lee Chong Wei 13–21, 12–21   Silver

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2006 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia   Choong Tan Fook   Chan Chong Ming
  Koo Kien Keat
13–21, 14–21   Silver

Southeast Asian Games edit

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1999 Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei   Taufik Hidayat 10–15, 15–11, 11–15   Silver
2003 Tan Binh Sport Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam   Sony Dwi Kuncoro 8–15, 5–15   Silver

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2001 Malawati Stadium, Selangor, Malaysia   Lee Wan Wah   Sigit Budiarto
  Candra Wijaya
4–15, 5–15   Bronze
2005 PhilSports Arena, Pasig, Philippines   Choong Tan Fook   Luluk Hadiyanto
  Alvent Yulianto
10–15, 2–15   Bronze

BWF Superseries edit

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[6] is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels are Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consists of twelve tournaments around the world that have been introduced since 2011.[7] Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2007 China Masters   Lin Dan 19–21, 9–21   Runner-up
  BWF Superseries Finals tournament
  BWF Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix edit

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) which was held from 2007 to 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix has been sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1997 Dutch Open   Oliver Pongratz 15–10, 15–11   Winner
1999 Malaysia Open   Luo Yigang 16–17, 15–17   Runner-up
1999 Denmark Open   Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen 15–17, 4–15   Runner-up
2000 Chinese Taipei Open   Peter Gade 9–15, 5–15   Runner-up
2001 Singapore Open   Taufik Hidayat 5–7, 7–0, 1–7, 7–1, 4–7   Runner-up
2001 China Open   Xia Xuanze 3–7, 7–3, 2–7, 7–5, 4–7   Runner-up
2002 Dutch Open   Lee Tsuen Seng 15–6, 15–6   Winner
2002 China Open   Chen Hong 12–15, 15–5, 15–9   Winner
2003 Chinese Taipei Open   Sony Dwi Kuncoro 3–15, 15–7, 15–4   Winner
2003 China Open   Lin Dan 16–17, 12–15   Runner-up
2007 New Zealand Open   Andre Kurniawan Tedjono 21–13, 18–21, 14–21   Runner-up
2009 Macau Open   Lee Chong Wei 15–21, 19–21   Runner-up
2009 Chinese Taipei Open   Nguyen Tien Minh 11–21, 14–21   Runner-up
2010 Malaysia Grand Prix Gold   Lee Chong Wei 8–21, 21–14, 15–21   Runner-up
2011 Australia Open   Sho Sasaki 11–21, 21–12, 19–21   Runner-up
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF/IBF Grand Prix tournament

Honour edit

References edit

  1. ^ "All-star cast lines up in Singapore Open". Utusan Online. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Other Sport: Choong Hann goes down in rubber game to China's Xuanze". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Choong Hann says it's the right time to leave after roller-coaster ride".
  4. ^ "Home". lavieflo.com.
  5. ^ "A gift of Everlasting Flowers with LavieFlo". 2 October 2012.
  6. ^ "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007.
  7. ^ "Yonex All England Elevated To BWF Premier Super Series Event". www.ibadmintonstore.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  8. ^ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".