Wong Choong Hann

Wong Choong Hann (; born 17 February 1977) is a Malaysian former badminton player. He was the first Malaysian to win a medal in the men's singles event at the BWF World Championships. He resigned as the coaching director for the Malaysia national badminton team in June 2023.

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.

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 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 Bronze 2006 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia Lee Chong Wei 13–21, 12–21 Silver Silver

Men's doubles YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult 2006 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia Choong Tan Fook Chan Chong Ming Koo Kien Keat 13–21, 14–21 Silver Silver

SEA Games Men's singles

Men's doubles YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult 2001 Malawati Stadium, Selangor, Malaysia Lee Wan Wah Sigit Budiarto Candra Wijaya 4–15, 5–15 Bronze Bronze 2005 PhilSports Arena, Pasig, Philippines Choong Tan Fook Luluk Hadiyanto Alvent Yulianto 10–15, 2–15 Bronze Bronze

World Junior Championships Boys' doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1994 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Loo Yiew Loong Peter Gade Peder Nissen 14–17, 6–15 Bronze Bronze

BWF Superseries The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, 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. 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 Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (2000).