Wong Choong Hann

Wong Choong Hann
Personal information
Country	Malaysia
Born	(1977-02-17) 17 February 1977 Kuala Lumpur
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Years active	1996 - 2012
Handedness	Left
Event	Men's singles
Medal record Representing  Malaysia Men's badminton World Championships 2003 Birmingham Men's singles Thomas Cup 1998 Hong Kong Team 2002 Guangzhou Team 2006 Sendai/Tokyo Team 2008 Jakarta Team 2010 Kuala Lumpur Team Asian Games 1998 Bangkok Men's team 2002 Busan Men's team 2006 Doha 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 Southeast Asian 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 Ho Chi Minh City Men's singles 2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles 2003 Ho Chi Minh City Men's team 2005 Manila Men's doubles
BWF profile

Wong Choong Hann (simplified Chinese: 黄综翰; traditional Chinese: 黃綜翰; pinyin: Huáng Zònghàn; born 17 February 1977 in Kuala Lumpur) is a former professional badminton player from Malaysia. He is the first Malaysian to win a medal in the men's singles event at the BWF World Championships.

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 Choong Hann reached the World Championships finals. In a thrilling three-game 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 Choong Hann 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, Choong Hann was defeated by Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.

The low point of his career occurred during the 2006 Thomas Cup where he injured himself by snapping an Achilles tendon while playing in a quarter final match against South Korea, he 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 far from his best 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 Taiwan.

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 programs and hopefully produce world-class shuttlers for Malaysia.

In May 2010, Wong Choong Hann 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.^[1][2]

Achievements

References