Tan Wee Kiong

Tan Wee Kiong (; born 21 May 1989) is a Malaysian badminton player in the doubles event. He had a partnership with Goh V Shem, which began at the 2014 Thomas Cup. Together, Tan and Goh won the gold medal in the men's doubles and the mixed team event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. They also won bronze at the 2014 Asian Games. In their Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics, they won the silver medal, becoming the first Malaysian pair to achieve such a feat since 1996. In November 2016, they reached a career-high ranking of world number 1, making them the fifth ever Malaysian men's doubles pair to do so, after Razif Sidek and Jalani Sidek, followed by Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock, Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng, and Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong.

Early and personal life Tan was born on 21 May 1989 in Johor to Tan Cham Swe and Tan Yok Hua. His brothers, Tan Wee Tat and Tan Wee Gieen, are also professional badminton players. Tan started playing badminton when he was 6 and joined Bukit Jalil Sport School when he was 13. Tan and beautician Chia Shi Leng wed in 2016. Due to Tan's tight schedule, their wedding reception was held in December 2017 at The St. Regis Hotel Kuala Lumpur, with 700 guests in attendance. The couple had a son in March 2019.

Career

Early career Tan started his junior career as a mixed doubles player. However, he later transitioned into men's doubles. In 2007, he won the Asian Junior Championships mixed doubles gold medal with Woon Khe Wei. They were seeded second and first at the 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships but were defeated in the fourth round on both occasions.

2010–2014 In 2010, he briefly partnered Mak Hee Chun. They played together at the 2010 Asian Games but were beaten in the round of 32. Later, he partnered Hoon Thien How. They reached a career high of no. 7 worldwide. Their campaign at the 2013 World Championships ended in the third round after a loss to Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. Later that year, the pair reached their first ever Super Series semifinal at the French Open. Shortly after, the two won their first career title at the Macau Open. They were runners-up at the China Open and in that same year, they qualified for the Super Series Finals after the withdrawal of compatriots, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong. However, they failed to advance past the group stage.

Tan played his last tournament with Hoon at the 2014 World Championships in August 2014. Their campaign ended in the quarterfinals where they lost to the eventual champions, Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol.

2014–2021 In May 2014, Tan was scratch partnered with Goh V Shem to play second men's doubles at the 2014 Thomas Cup. They won all four matches that they contested and defeated several highly ranked players along the way despite this being the first time ever that the two has played together internationally. Their debut partnership at the Thomas Cup was widely praised. Malaysia made it to the finals for the first time in 12 years but was narrowly defeated by Japan with a score of 2–3.

In August, Tan represented Malaysia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with Goh V Shem. They went on to take the gold medal and were the only medalists in the tournament who were not seeded. En route to the gold medal, they defeated top seeds, Chris Adcock and Andrew Ellis of England in the semifinals as well as 3rd seeds, Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Chayut Triyachart of Singapore in the finals. They also won all five matches they contested in the mixed team event, helping Malaysia secure their third consecutive mixed team gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Following the World Championships in September, Tan and Goh have been officially partnered. They represented Malaysia at the 2014 Asian Games where they made it to semifinals but were defeated by top seeds, Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong of South Korea. The defeat automatically earned them the bronze medal as there is no bronze medal playoffs in badminton at the Asian Games. En route to the semifinals, they defeated 5th seeds, Lee Sheng-mu and Tsai Chia-hsin of Chinese Taipei in the round of 32 and 3rd seeds, Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan in the quarterfinals with a score of 21–16, 21–16.

They were semifinalists at the Malaysia Masters in January that year. In March, they became runners-up to Cai Yun and Lu Kai at the Swiss Open. At the 2015 Sudirman Cup in May, Goh and Tan managed to upset the World No. 1, Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong in the first group tie against South Korea. Malaysia topped Group D and were drawn against South Korea once again in the quarterfinals but failed to advance. At the 2015 World Championships in August, Tan and Goh defeated defending champions Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol in the second round but were defeated in the third round. Tan and Goh won their first title together at the 2015 U.S. Grand Prix. They then went on to win their second title at the 2016 Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold. They then became beaten semifinalists at the All England Open and the Indian Super Series. At the 2016 Thomas Cup, Tan won three out of his five matches played. Malaysia made it to the semifinals but lost to eventual winners Denmark.

Tan and Goh made their Olympics debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics. They won all their matches in the group stage to top group B and qualify for the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, they stun Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong to reach the semi-finals. Tan and Goh later beat Chai Biao and Hong Wei in the semifinals. They once again face Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan in the finals but this time falling short with a score of 21–16, 11–21, 21–23, taking home silver.

In October 2016, Tan won his first Super Series tournament title with Goh at the 2016 Denmark Open. In November, they became the new world number 1 in men's doubles. In December, Tan and Goh won the 2016 Dubai World Superseries Finals.

He briefly partnered with Ong Yew Sin before resuming his partnership with Goh in early 2018.

His partnership was resumed with Goh V Shem in order to help Malaysia in 2018 Thomas Cup. In the group stage, they defeated Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov from Russia. They were defeated by Denmark and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon of Indonesia by three sets 19–21, 22–20 and 13–21.

2021–present In August 2021, Tan ended his partnership with Goh V Shem and sought Tan Kian Meng as his new partner. His first tournament with Kian Meng was the 2021 Dutch Open where they made it to the finals and lost by three sets 14–21, 21–18, 20–22 to Terry Hee and Loh Kean Hean from Singapore.

Achievements

Olympic Games Men's doubles

Commonwealth Games Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2014 Emirates Arena,Glasgow, Scotland Goh V Shem Danny Bawa Chrisnanta Chayut Triyachart 21–12, 12–21, 21–15 Gold Gold 2018 Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre,Gold Coast, Australia Goh V Shem Sachin Dias Buwaneka Goonethilleka 21–8, 21–13 Bronze Bronze

Asian Games Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2014 Gyeyang Gymnasium,Incheon, South Korea Goh V Shem Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong 6–21, 15–21 Bronze Bronze

Asian Junior Championships Boys' doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2006 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Mohd Lutfi Zaim Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif Vountus Indra Mawan Bronze Bronze 2007 Stadium Juara,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Mohd Lutfi Zaim Chai Biao Li Tian 12–21, 8–21 Silver Silver

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2006 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Woon Khe Wei Lee Yong-dae Yoo Hyun-young 15–21, 9–21 Silver Silver 2007 Stadium Juara,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Woon Khe Wei Shin Baek-cheol Yoo Hyun-young 21–18, 16–21, 21–12 Gold Gold

BWF World Tour (2 titles, 3 runners-up) The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Men's doubles Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result 2018 Malaysia Masters Super 500 Goh V Shem Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto 21–14, 22–24, 13–21 Runner-up 2019 Thailand Masters Super 300 Goh V Shem Lu Ching-yao Yang Po-han 21–13, 21–17 Winner 2019 Chinese Taipei Open Super 300 Goh V Shem Choi Sol-gyu Seo Seung-jae 21–19, 15–21, 23–21 Winner 2019 Korea Masters Super 300 Goh V Shem Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin 19–21, 22–20, 19–21 Runner-up 2020 (I) Thailand Open Super 1000 Goh V Shem Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin 16–21, 23–21, 19–21 Runner-up

BWF Superseries (2 titles, 1 runner-up) The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Men's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2013 China Open Hoon Thien How Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong 13–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2016 Denmark Open Goh V Shem Bodin Isara Nipitphon Puangpuapech 14–21, 22–20, 21-19 Winner 2016 Dubai World Superseries Finals Goh V Shem Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda 21–14, 21-19 Winner BWF Superseries Finals tournament BWF Superseries Premier tournament BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 2 runners-up) The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Men's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2013 Macau Open Hoon Thien How Lee Sheng-mu Tsai Chia-hsin 21–16, 21–19 Winner 2015 Swiss Open Goh V Shem Cai Yun Lu Kai 19–21, 21–14, 17–21 Runner-up 2015 Russian Open Goh V Shem Vladimir Ivanov Ivan Sozonov 20–22, 19–21 Runner-up 2015 U.S. Grand Prix Goh V Shem Vladimir Ivanov Ivan Sozonov 21–14, 21–17 Winner 2016 Syed Modi International Goh V Shem Pranav Chopra Akshay Dewalkar 14–21, 24–22, 21–8 Winner BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 3 runners-up) Men's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2011 Indonesia International Ow Yao Han Rian Sukmawan Rendra Wijaya 13–21, 21–19, 16–21 Runner-up 2021 Dutch Open Tan Kian Meng Terry Hee Loh Kean Hean 14–21, 21–18, 20–22 Runner-up

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2007 Malaysia International Woon Khe Wei Lim Khim Wah Ng Hui Lin 15–21, 14–21 Runner-up 2009 Malaysia International Woon Khe Wei Mak Hee Chun Ng Hui Lin 21–6, 13–21, 21–17 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament

Honours Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (A.M.N.) (2017).