Wong Choong Hann

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wong.

Wong Choong Hann AMN (simplified Chinese: 黄综翰; traditional Chinese: 黃綜翰; pinyin: Huáng Zònghàn; born 17 February 1977) is a Malaysian former badminton player.^[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
Country	Malaysia
Born	(1977-02-17) 17 February 1977 (age 47) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Years active	1996–2012
Handedness	Left
Men's singles
Highest ranking	1 (15 August 2002)
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Malaysia World Championships 2003 Birmingham Men's singles Thomas Cup 1998 Hong Kong Men's team 2002 Guangzhou Men's team 2006 Sendai & Tokyo Men's team 2008 Jakarta Men's team 2010 Kuala Lumpur Men's team Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur Men's singles 1998 Kuala Lumpur Men's team 2006 Melbourne Mixed team 2002 Manchester Men's singles 2006 Melbourne Men's singles 2006 Melbourne Men's doubles Asian Games 1998 Bangkok Men's team 2002 Busan Men's team 2006 Doha Men's team Asia Cup 1997 Jakarta Men's team SEA Games 2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's team 2005 Manila Men's team 1999 Bandar Seri Begawan Men's singles 1999 Bandar Seri Begawan Men's team 2003 Vietnam Men's singles 2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles 2003 Vietnam Men's team 2005 Manila Men's doubles World Junior Championships 1994 Kuala Lumpur Boys' doubles
BWF profile

Career

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

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

World Championships

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

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

SEA Games

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

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

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

• Malaysia:
  • Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (2000)^[8]

References

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".