Datuk Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldest ...

Punch Gunalan (4 February 1944 – 15 August 2012) was a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player, who achieved success in both singles and doubles competitions.

Badminton career

Gunalan was a talented right-hander who spent what might have been some of the best years of his playing career competing only sporadically as a student in England. In early 70s, Gunalan and his partner,

Ng Boon Bee Dato' Ng Boon Bee (; 17 December 1937 – 3 August 2022) was a Malaysian badminton player who excelled from the 1960s through the early 1970s. His success in doubles earned him recognition as one of greatest doubles players in badminton histo ...

became the leading men's doubles team in the world. They captured gold at the biennial

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

(1970), at the quadrennial

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

(1970), and at the

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...

(1969). They captured the venerable All England title in 1971. Though perhaps less consistent in singles than he was in doubles, Gunalan was capable of playing it at the highest level. He reached the

All-England The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the Badminton World Federation, BWF's latest grading system, it was given BWF Super Series, Super Series st ...

singles final in 1974, losing in three close sets to the iconic

Rudy Hartono Rudy Hartono Kurniawan (born Nio Hap Liang (); 18 August 1949) is an Indonesian former badminton player holding the record of winning the men's singles title at the All-England Championship eight times, seven times consecutively from 1968 to 1974 ...

. He also helped Malaysia reach the

Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

final in 1970. He is the only Malaysian to capture gold medals in both men's singles and men's doubles at the

Sea Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

, the Commonwealth Games, and the Asian Games.

Post-retirement

After retiring as a player in 1974 Gunalan served in various stints as coach of the Malaysian team, an official in the Malaysian Badminton Association and as an official in the

International Badminton Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...

(now

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...

). In 1992, as team manager of the Thomas Cup together with

Badminton Association of Malaysia The Badminton Association of Malaysia or BAM (Malay: ''Persatuan Badminton Malaysia'') is the governing body of badminton in Malaysia. The association was founded in 1964. Nevertheless, the history of Malaysian badminton starts much earlier. Alrea ...

(BAM) president Tan Sri Elyas Omar, Malaysia won the Thomas Cup beating Indonesia.

Death

Gunalan died on 15 August 2012 after suffering from a critical illness. He was 68.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

MY Panglima Setia Diraja - Order of the Royal Household - PSD

Herald of the

Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia The Most Distinguished Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Amat Dihormati Setia Diraja) is a Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirte ...

(B.S.D.) (1988) ** MY Panglima Setia Diraja - Order of the Royal Household - PSD

Commander of the

(P.S.D.) - Datuk (1992)

Achievements

Olympic Games (demonstration)

''Men's doubles''

Asian Games

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles''

Asian Championships

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles''

Southeast Asian Peninsular Games

''Men's doubles'' ''Men's singles'' ''Mixed doubles''

Commonwealth Games

''Men's doubles'' ''Men's singles''

International tournaments

''Men's doubles'' ''Men's singles''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunalan, Punch Malaysian male badminton players 1944 births 2012 deaths Malaysian people of Tamil descent Malaysian sportspeople of Indian descent People from Selangor Olympic badminton players of Malaysia Badminton players at the 1972 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in badminton Asian Games gold medalists for Malaysia Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Badminton players at the 1970 Asian Games Badminton players at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Malaysia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Malaysia Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Southeast Asian Games medalists in badminton Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for Malaysia Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia Competitors at the 1969 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games Competitors at the 1971 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games Competitors at the 1973 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games Heralds of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games