Tan Fook confident Malaysia will win Olympic badminton gold medal soon

Former national men’s doubles shuttler Choong Tan Fook believes Malaysia will produce an Olympic champion soon enough, with the emergence of more professional shuttlers playing a key role to achieving that.

Choong returned to the country to oversee his Hong Kong players in action for the KL Masters starting on October 31 at the Stadium Titiwangsa.

When asked about the current scene of Malaysian badminton, he said: “What I am most happy about is the emergence of more professional shuttlers. This is a good sign as it creates a healthy competition in the system.

“I know Malaysians are desperate to see a first Olympic champion, and I believe we will get one soon,” he said.

Choong formed a formidable combination with Lee Wan Wah in the late 90s and went on to achieve significant success in their career that included being the world’s top pair, besides winning gold at the Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games.

The pair also won two bronze medals at the 2001 & 2007 World Championships.

The KL Masters, meanwhile, is a Super 100 event featuring several high profile Malaysians in action including Chan Peng Soon, Tan Wee Kiong and K. Letshaana.

Chan and partner Cheah Yee See are top seeds in the mixed doubles, which the veteran shuttler is hoping to translate by winning this Super 100 event.

“Our partnership has struggled in the past, it has not been perfect. But here, the aim is to become champions. It won’t be easy, we will approach it round by round,” he said.

Some of the other top seeds in the tournament are Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chia-hao (men’s singles), South Korean Sim Yu-jin (women’s singles), Indonesian pair Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza (men’s doubles) and Chang Ching Hui-Yang Ching Tun (Chinese Taipei women’s doubles).

Besides that, Malaysian shuttlers such as Leong Jun Hao, Letshaana, Go Pei Kee-Low Yeen Yuan and Choong Hon Jian-Go will also aspire for a flourishing run.