Rashid Sidek

Abdul Rashid Mohd Sidek (born 9 July 1968) is a Malaysian former badminton player and coach.

Personal life He is the youngest of the famous five Sidek brothers. Rashid and his siblings gained exposure to badminton from their father, Mohd Sidek, a former player turned coach. Under the guidance of their father, Rashid and the rest of his siblings were trained to be champions from an early age. Additionally, Rashid was also an alumnus of Victoria Institution from the 1981–1986 batch.

Career After completing his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam, he was injected into the Project 1988/90 squad with the aim of regaining the Thomas Cup. In the 1990 Thomas Cup, Rashid played well but Malaysia lost the finals to China 1–4.

He won the Malaysian Open title for three consecutive years in 1990, 1991, and 1992. As a result, he became known by many as “jaguh kampung” (literally, "local hero"). In the Thomas Cup final in 1992, he beat Ardy Wiranata to give Malaysia the first point in a dramatic 3–2 win over rivals Indonesia - the first championship won by Malaysia in 25 years, and the last to this day.

Over the next three years, Rashid's performance declined, but he bounced back in 1996, when he won the Asia Cup and German Open, then reached the finals of the All England before losing to Paul-Erik Hoyer Larsen from Denmark. His ranking rose to among the top three in the world. He won the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, beating the top seed, Joko Suprianto of Indonesia en route to the semi-finals, where he was beaten by Dong Jiong. However, he beat Indonesia's 1995 world champion, Heryanto Arbi, 5-15, 15-11, 15–6 in the third place playoff.

In 1997, Rashid reached the top of the world ranking. He later began to make way for new generation players like Wong Choong Hann, Yong Hock Kin and Roslin Hashim.

He retired in 2000, when aged only 32, to make way for younger and new generation players.

Coaching Upon his retirement, Rashid was appointed as national coach by the Badminton Association of Malaysia from 2003 until 2015. He became instrumental for the success of the new generation badminton players such as Daren Liew and Chong Wei Feng. Apart from that, he was a coach for Nusa Mahsuri, the first professional badminton club in Malaysia from 1996 to 2002. Currently, he acts as the advisor for the club which he had set up with his brother, Jalani.

He also became national para-badminton coach, serving as Cheah Liek Hou's coach who won the first ever gold medal in para-badminton at 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.

Achievements Olympic Games Men's singles

World Cup Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1993 Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India Joko Suprianto 9–15, 3–15 Bronze Bronze

Asian Games Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1990 Beijing Gymnasium, Beijing, China Zhao Jianhua 2–15, 5–15 Bronze Bronze

Asian Championships Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1991 Cheras Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Foo Kok Keong 4–15, 15–11, 15–2 Gold Gold 1992 Cheras Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Foo Kok Keong 15–9, 15–3 Gold Gold

Asian Cup Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1991 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia Bambang Suprianto 15–10, 15–11 Gold Gold 1996 Olympic Gymnasium No. 2, Seoul, South Korea Luo Yigang 18–14, 15–5 Gold Gold

Southeast Asian Games Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1989Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Eddy Kurniawan 10–15, 7–15 Bronze Bronze 1991 Camp Crame Gymnasium, Manila, Philippines Joko Suprianto 10–15, 9–15 Bronze Bronze 1995 Gymnasium 3, 700th Anniversary Sport Complex, Chiang Mai, Thailand Ardy Wiranata 11–15, 10–15 Bronze Bronze

Commonwealth Games Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1990 Auckland Badminton Hall, Auckland, New Zealand Foo Kok Keong 15–8, 15–10 Gold Gold 1994 McKinnon Gym, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Ong Ewe Hock 15–6, 15–4 Gold Gold

Men's doubles

IBF World Grand Prix The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result 1990 French Open Foo Kok Keong 11–15, 13–18 Runner-up 1990 Malaysia Open Foo Kok Keong 18–17, 15–6 Winner 1990 World Grand Prix Finals Eddy Kurniawan 13–18, 15–9, 2–15 Runner-up 1991 Malaysia Open Foo Kok Keong 15–4, 15–5 Winner 1992 Malaysia Open Thomas Stuer Lauridsen 15–5, 15–7 Winner 1992 World Grand Prix Finals Alan Budikusuma 15–9, 5–15, 15–7 Winner 1994 Malaysia Open Joko Suprianto 3–15, 5–15 Runner-up 1995 Brunei Open Jeffer Rosobin 15–9, 15–3 Winner 1996 Chinese Taipei Open Dong Jiong 11–15, 4–15 Runner-up 1996 All England Open Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen 7–15, 6–15 Runner-up 1996 German Open Ong Ewe Hock 15–11, 15–2 Winner 1999 Chinese Taipei Open Fung Permadi 17–16, 6–15, 7–15 Runner-up 2000 Korea Open Peter Gade 11–15, 3–15 Runner-up

Men's doubles

Fictionalized portrayals Rashid was portrayed by Farid Kamil, a biopic film by Adrian Teh entitle Gold is a journey story Paralympic badminton athlete Lien Hou and Rashid as coach train him for Olympic Tokyo 2020.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 Black Widow Wajah Ayu Assassin 1 Special appearance 2002 Cinta 200 Ela Yazid 2021 Olympic Dream Himself Special appearance

Television

Honours

Medal of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (P.P.N.) (1990)