Tan Boon Heong (, born 18 September 1987) is a former World No.1

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 ...

n professional

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 in the men's doubles event.

Career

2004-2006

Tan was previously paired with

Hoon Thien How Hoon Thien How (born 24 December 1986) is a former badminton player from Malaysia who plays in the men's doubles category. Currently, he is one of the assistant coach for Malaysia men's doubles national team. Career Hoon Thien How and Tan ...

, with whom he won the World Junior Championships in 2004 and a silver medal at the

2006 Asian Badminton Championships The 2006 Asian Badminton Championships was the 25th edition of the Asian Badminton Championships. It was held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from March 28 to April 2, 2006 as a four-star tournament. Medalists Medal count Final Results Men's sing ...

2006

Nearing the Doha Asian Games in 2006,

Rexy Mainaky Rexy Ronald Mainaky (born 9 March 1968) is a former men's doubles badminton world champion from Indonesia who is often simply known as Rexy. He won the men's doubles Olympic gold medal in 1996 with Ricky Subagja. As of October 2021, he was appoin ...

(the Malaysian doubles coach) decided to split them up and partner Tan Boon Heong with

Koo Kien Keat Koo Kien Keat (; born 18 September 1985) is a Malaysian former professional badminton player. He succeeded in both men's and mixed doubles but is best known for his partnership with Tan Boon Heong with whom, he reached a career high ranking ...

instead. This move, nevertheless, proved to be spot-on as this pair went on to become the Asian Games champion, winning the gold medal in their maiden outing by defeating the then Chinese world champions,

Cai Yun Cai Yun (born 19 January 1980) is a former professional badminton player representing China. He is the 2012 London Olympic gold medallist and a four-time World Champion in men's doubles. He is regarded as one of the greatest men's doubles player ...

and

Fu Haifeng Fu Haifeng (born 23 August 1983) is a Chinese former badminton player. He is regarded as one of the greatest men's doubles players of all time. Sport career Combining Fu Haifeng's impressive power with his regular partner Cai Yun's impressive s ...

, in the quarterfinals, Indonesia's

Markis Kido Markis Kido (11 August 1984 – 14 June 2021) was an Indonesian badminton player and one of the world's leading in men's doubles discipline. He won the discipline's gold medal at the 2006 World Cup, 2007 World Championships, 2008 Olympic Games ...

and

Hendra Setiawan Hendra Setiawan (born 25 August 1984) is an Indonesian badminton player. He is an Olympic Games gold medalist, four-time World Champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, and two-time All England champion. With these achievements, Setiawan has ...

in the semifinals, and finally Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto, also from Indonesia, in the finals. They are the youngest men's doubles to win gold medal at Asian Games at the age of 21 and 19 respectively.

2007

2007 was the best year for Koo and Tan. They became the first qualifiers to win the Superseries at the Malaysian Open. They also became the World No.1 that year. They won their first All England Open after beating Chinese pair,

and

in straight games.

2008

They competed at the 2008 Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals.

2009

At the Japan Open, Tan set the world record for badminton smashes at 421 km/h. This was done under lab conditions and recorded by Yonex representatives, and not in an official match. Later, he and Koo Kien Keat won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships.

2010

At the

2010 BWF World Championships 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, Tan and partner

launched themselves into the semifinals after beating Korean rivals

Lee Yong-dae Lee Yong-dae (Hangul: 이용대; Hanja: 李龍大; ; born 11 September 1988) is a professional badminton player from South Korea who had been successful in both men's and mixed doubles. He reached world number 1 ranking with 4 different partners, ...

and

Jung Jae-sung Jung Jae-sung (also spelled Chung Jae-sung; Hangul: 정재성; Hanja: 鄭在成; ; 25 August 1982 – 9 March 2018) was a South Korean professional badminton player. Jung was born on 25 August 1982 in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do. He started playing ba ...

. In the semifinals they defeated China's

Guo Zhendong Guo Zhendong (; born 4 August 1984) is a badminton player from China. , he (along with his partner Xu Chen) was ranked within the top 10 male badminton doubles teams in the world. He competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. Career A men's ...

and

Xu Chen Xu Chen (; born 29 November 1984) is a badminton player from China. In 2010, he (along with his partner Guo Zhendong) was ranked within the top 10 men's badminton doubles in the world. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the mixed doubl ...

21–14, 21–18. Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Keat were the first Malaysian pair to enter a World Championships final in 13 years. In the finals, they played China's

and

and lost 21–18, 18–21, 14–21. The year 2010 was the last time Koo and Tan ranked World No. 1.

2011

At the 2011 All England Open, Tan and Koo defeated 2008 Olympic champions

and

in the quarterfinals. They then defeated World champions

and

21–11, 23–21. They lost to Danes and world no.1

Mathias Boe Mathias Boe (born 11 July 1980) is a badminton player from Denmark. He was the gold medalist at the 2015 European Games, two time European champions winning in 2012 and 2017, and the silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He joined the Den ...

and

Carsten Mogensen Carsten Mogensen (born 24 July 1983) is a former badminton player from Denmark. He was the gold medalist at the 2015 European Games, two time European champions winning in 2012 and 2017, and the silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Moge ...

21–15, 18–21, 18–21. In doing so, they failed to win their second All England Open title.

2012

Tan competed at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

with

, reaching the semi-finals, and losing 0–2 in the bronze medal match to the Koreans.

2013

Tan and Koo suffered a lot of early round exits in 2013 and a three-year major title drought but they managed to remain in the top 5 of the world ranking.

2014

As of March 2014, following the resignation of his partner, Koo Kien Keat, which was due to their deteriorating performance, Tan was scratch partnered with several men's doubles players including

Goh V Shem Goh V Shem (; born Goh Wei Shem, 20 May 1989) is a Malaysian badminton player in the doubles event. He was partnered with Tan Wee Kiong after their outstanding performance at the 2014 Thomas Cup. Together, Goh and Tan won the gold medal for ...

Ow Yao Han Ow Yao Han (;born 19 April 1992) is a Malaysian badminton player. He won two gold medals in the boys' doubles event at the BWF World Junior Championships in 2009 and 2010. Achievements Southeast Asian Games ''Men's doubles'' BWF World ...

and

Tan Wee Kiong Tan Wee Kiong (; born 21 May 1989) is a Malaysian badminton player in the doubles event. He is well-known for his former partnership with Goh V Shem, which began at the 2014 Thomas Cup. Together, Tan and Goh won the gold medal in the men's ...

. Following the tournament, Tan has been officially re-partnered with

. In August that year, Koo returned to play his last tournament with Tan at the

2014 BWF World Championships The 2014 BWF World Championships was a badminton tournament which was held from 25 to 31 August 2014 at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. Host city selection Copenhagen and Macau submitted bids for this of championships. Both citie ...

. Their last match together was in the third round where they lost to a Chinese Taipei pair with a score of 19–21 in the deciding game.

2015

In early 2015, Tan announced his resignation from the Badminton Association of Malaysia. Koo and Tan announced that they are coming out of retirement and try to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics before they call it quits for good. They are currently sponsored by Seri Mutiara Development Sdn Bhd. They have achieved some breakthroughs this year. Winning the Dutch Open and runners-up in the Thailand Open. They have also made it to 2 Superseries quarterfinals in Australia and Korea.

2016

In 2016, Koo and Tan managed to enter the top 15 of the world rankings. However, due to the new Olympic qualification requirement set by the BWF whereby each country can send two representatives for each event only if they are both in the top 8 of the world rankings in their discipline and if they are not then only the highest ranked representative will contest, Koo and Tan narrowly failed to qualify for the Olympics.

2017

Tan and

debut tournament at the 2017 Syed Modi International, they managed to advance until the quarter-finals. They reached the final round at the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

but were beaten by third seed

Takeshi Kamura is a Japanese badminton player. He was selected to join the national team in 2013 and retired in 2021. Kamura was part of the national team that won the 2014 Thomas Cup. He captured his first Superseries title at the 2016 Hong Kong Open, and re ...

and

Keigo Sonoda is a Japanese badminton player. He affiliated with the YKK AP Yatsushiro, before joining the Tonami team in 2010. Sonoda was part of the national team that won the 2014 Thomas Cup. He captured his first Superseries title at the 2016 Hong Kong O ...

from Japan.

2018

Tan was partner with

Yoo Yeon Seong Yoo Yeon-seong (; born 19 August 1986) is a South Korean professional badminton player. He specializes in doubles events and was ranked as high as No. 2 worldwide with his former partner, Ko Sung-hyun. The two also competed at the 2012 Summer ...

from South Korea. Subsequently, he was partner with Kim Sa Rang and they play together in men's doubles in 18/19 Purple League.

2019

Tan was also currently training with

Goh Liu Ying Goh Liu Ying (born 30 May 1989) is a Malaysian badminton player. She has been consistently ranked among the top 10 mixed doubles player in the world with her partner, Chan Peng Soon. Together, they were ranked as high as world No. 3. They won ...

and

Chan Peng Soon Chan Peng Soon (born 27 April 1988) is a Malaysian badminton player specialised in the mixed doubles event. He is best known for his partnership with Goh Liu Ying where they have been consistently ranked among the top 10 mixed doubles pair in ...

after their resignation from

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 ...

Personal life

Tan Boon Heong is married to beautician Sherlyn Tan Yean Ling since 2016.

Achievements

BWF World Championships

''Men's doubles''

Commonwealth Games

''Men's doubles''

Asian Games

''Men's doubles''

Asian Championships

''Men's doubles''

Southeast Asian Games

''Men's doubles''

World Junior Championships

''Boys' doubles''

BWF Superseries (8 titles, 10 runners-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 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 ...

(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'' :

BWF Superseries Finals The BWF Super Series Finals (named as BWF Super Series Masters Finals until 2009) was an annual badminton tournament held at the end of the year where the players with the most points from that calendar year's twelve events of the BWF Super Series c ...

tournament : BWF Superseries Premier tournament :

BWF Superseries The BWF Super Series was a series of Grade 2 badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). It was launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007. Since 2011, the Super Series includes two levels of tournament, ...

tournament

BWF Grand Prix (8 titles, 5 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

(BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006. ''Men's doubles'' : BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament : BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

''Men's doubles'' : BWF International Challenge tournament : BWF International Series tournament : BWF Future Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

Men's doubles results with

against Superseries finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists, plus all Olympic opponents. *

5–11 * Chai Biao &

1–0 * Sun Junjie &

0–1 *

Liu Xiaolong Liu Xiaolong (; born 12 May 1988) is a Chinese badminton player who is a doubles specialist. A left handler, he is the former winner of the All England Championships. He was part of China winning team at the 2013 Sudirman Cup. He announced his ...

Qiu Zihan Qiu Zihan (; born 17 January 1991) is a Chinese badminton player who is a doubles specialist. He was part of China winning team at the 2013 Sudirman Cup. Teamed-up with Liu Xiaolong, he won the 2013 All England Open and a silver medal at the 2 ...

6–1 *

Xie Zhongbo Xie Zhongbo (; born 22 May 1983) is a former Chinese badminton player from Hunan and raised in Sichuan. After retired from the international tournament, he works as badminton coach in Sichuan. Career A doubles specialist on the world circuit, ...

1–0 * Chai Biao &

Hong Wei Hong Wei (; born 4 October 1989) is a Chinese professional badminton player. He competed at the 2016 Rio in the men's doubles event, and placed fourth after losing the bronze medal match to Great Britain pair Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis. ...

0–1 *

3–0 *

Fang Chieh-min Fang Chieh-min (; born 31 January 1986) is a Taiwanese badminton player. He paired with Lee Sheng-mu in men's doubles. The pair won 3 BWF Super Series titles including 2010 Singapore Super Series, 2010 Indonesia Super Series and 2012 Malaysia S ...

Lee Sheng-mu Lee Sheng-mu (; born 3 October 1986) is a Taiwanese badminton player from the Taiwan Cooperative Bank club. He competed at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games, and the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. Career Lee Sheng-mu's elite career began in the 2 ...

1–1 *

Tsai Chia-hsin Tsai Chia-hsin (; born 25 July 1982) is a Taiwanese former badminton player. He competed at the 2006 and 2014 Asian Games. Tsai also competed (for the Republic of China as Chinese Taipei) in the 2004 Summer Olympics in mixed doubles with pa ...

2–3 * Lars Påske &

Jonas Rasmussen Jonas Rasmussen (born 28 October 1977 in Aarhus) is a retired badminton player from Denmark. Career With his men's doubles partner Lars Paaske he won the 2003 IBF World Championships defeating Indonesian pair Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto ...

3–2 *

10–5 *

& Mads Conrad-Petersen 1–1 *

Jens Eriksen Jens Dyrløv Eriksen (born 30 December 1969) is a badminton player from Denmark. He competed in four consecutive Olympic Games from 1996 to 2008, and won a mixed doubles bronze medal in 2004 partnered with Mette Schjoldager. At the World Champ ...

& Martin Lundgård Hansen 4–0 * / Anthony Clark & Robert Blair 1–1 * Anthony Clark &

Nathan Robertson Nathan James Robertson (born 30 May 1977) from Cotgrave in Nottinghamshire is a retired English badminton player who has achieved international success in both the men's events and the mixed doubles event. He was educated at Dayncourt School S ...

2–1 * Muhammad Ahsan &

Bona Septano Bona Septano (born 22 September 1987) is an Indonesian former badminton player. He currently works as pilot in Indonesian airlines. Bona Septano concentrates on men's doubles with Mohammad Ahsan. They have competed successfully on the internat ...

2–3 * Luluk Hadiyanto & Alvent Yulianto Chandra 1–1 *

7–4 *

Angga Pratama Angga Pratama (born 12 May 1991) is an Indonesian badminton player affiliated with Jaya Raya Jakarta club. He competed in the men's doubles event in the international tournaments, and together with Ricky Karanda Suwardi, he won the 2015 Singap ...

& Ryan Agung Saputra 1–1 *

Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (born 2 August 1995) is an Indonesian badminton player who was formerly ranked world number 1 in the men's doubles by the Badminton World Federation. He plays for PB Djarum, and has been a member of the club since 2007 ...

Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (born 9 March 1991) is an Indonesian badminton player who was formerly ranked world No. 1 in the men's doubles by the Badminton World Federation. He plays for PB Jaya Raya, and has joined the club since June 2018. He won t ...

0-3 * Muhammad Ahsan &

2–1 *

Gideon Markus Fernaldi Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (born 9 March 1991) is an Indonesian badminton player who was formerly ranked world No. 1 in the men's doubles by the Badminton World Federation. He plays for PB Jaya Raya, and has joined the club since June 2018. He won th ...

0–1 * Shuichi Sakamoto &

Shintaro Ikeda is a male badminton player from Japan. Career Ikeda won the bronze medal in the 2007 BWF World Championships in men's doubles with Shuichi Sakamoto. They were defeated in semifinals by Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae of South Korea, 16–21 ...

3–2 * Naoki Kawamae &

Shoji Sato A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque ''fusuma'' is used (oshiire ...

5–0 *

Hirokatsu Hashimoto is a Japanese badminton player from Tonami Transportation badminton team. In 2013, he and his men's doubles partner Noriyasu Hirata, received the Badminton Nippon League's Valuable Player Award. He competed at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Hi ...

Noriyasu Hirata is a Japanese badminton player from Tonami Transportation badminton team. In 2013, he and his men's doubles partner Hirokatsu Hashimoto, received the Badminton Nippon League's Valuable Player Award. He competed at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games ...

2–2 *

Hiroyuki Endo is a retired Japanese badminton player. He competed at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. In 2009, he joined the Unisys badminton team. Career Endo won the 1st point in the Thomas Cup finals with Kenichi Hayakawa beating Tan Bo ...

Kenichi Hayakawa is a retired Japanese badminton player. He has been a runner-up of the All England three times (2013, 2014 and 2016) along with his partner, Hiroyuki Endo. He competed at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Career Hayakawa won the first point in th ...

3–0 *

Cho Gun-woo Cho Gun-woo (Hangul: 조건우; born 30 August 1988) is a South Korean badminton player from Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and joined the club since 2007. Cho Gun-woo has focused his career on men's doubles, although he has competed in mixed doubles ...

Shin Baek-cheol Shin Baek-cheol (Hangul: 신백철; born 19 October 1989) is a mixed and men's doubles badminton player from South Korea. He is a World, Asian and World Junior Champions, as well a gold medalists in the Asian Games and Summer Universiade. Car ...

1–0 *

3–13 *

Ko Sung-hyun Ko Sung-hyun (Hangul: 고성현; ; born 21 May 1987) is a South Korean badminton player affiliated with Gimcheon City Hall. He is a former world number 1 both in the men's and mixed doubles. Ko is a BWF World Champion, two time Badminton Asian ...

Yoo Yeon-seong Yoo Yeon-seong (; born 19 August 1986) is a South Korean professional badminton player. He specializes in doubles events and was ranked as high as No. 2 worldwide with his former partner, Ko Sung-hyun. The two also competed at the 2012 Summer ...

1–6 * Lee Jae-jin &

Hwang Ji-man Hwang Ji-man (Hangul: 황지만; ; born 8 July 1984) is a badminton player from South Korea. Career Hwang started playing badminton when he was in Miryang elementary school, and when he was 17, Hwang was chosen to represented the National Junior ...

1–1 *

1–2 *

0–1 *

Kim Gi-jung Kim Gi-jung or Kim Ki-jung (; or ; born 14 August 1990) is a South Korean badminton player. He competed at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's doubles event. Career In 2008, he won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships ...

& Kim Sa-rang 1–6 *

Choong Tan Fook Choong Tan Fook (born 6 February 1976) is a former badminton player from Malaysia. Choong is currently coaching the Hong Kong badminton team. Career overview Choong made his debut in Olympic Games in 2000 Sydney. Partnered with Lee Wan W ...

Lee Wan Wah Lee Wan Wah (, born 24 November 1975) is a former badminton player from Malaysia. He is currently the Japan's junior team coach. Career overview Lee made his debut in Olympic Games in 2000 Sydney. Partnered with Choong Tan Fook, they adv ...

3–1 *

Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif Mohd Zakry bin Abdul Latif (born 2 April 1983) is a former Malaysian badminton player. Career 2007 Mohd Zakry played at the 2007 BWF World Championships in men's doubles with Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari. They were seeded #7 and were defeate ...

Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari Muhammad Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari (born 5 February 1983) is a former male badminton player from Malaysia. Career 2007 Mohd Fairuzizuan played at the 2007 BWF World Championships in men's doubles with Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif. They were seeded # ...

6–4 *

0-2 *

Bodin Isara Bodin Isara (born 12 December 1990) is badminton player and Rattana Bundit University's student from Thailand. He competed for Thailand at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Maneepong Jongjit but was defeated in the quarterfinals by Malaysia's Koo K ...

Maneepong Jongjit Maneepong Jongjit ( th, มณีพงศ์ จงจิตร, ; born 21 March 1991) is a Thai badminton player. He studies at Ratna Bundit University. Career Maneepong Jongjit began to attract attention when he competed as a junior with B ...

2–0 *

Howard Bach Howard Bach (born February 22, 1979) is a Vietnamese-American male badminton player from the United States. He was the 2005 world champion in the men's doubles with Tony Gunawan. Early life He was born in Vietnam, Howard Bach came to the U.S ...

Tony Gunawan Tony Gunawan (; born 9 April 1975) is an Indonesian-born American former badminton player. He gained several international achievements for Indonesia and later for the United States, including Olympic gold medal and world champion title. Career ...

3–0 * /

Candra Wijaya Rafael Candra Wijaya (; born 16 September 1975) is a retired Indonesian badminton player. Career Wijaya started his career in badminton at the age of five, motivated by his brother Indra Wijaya and later joined a club in Cirebon. His father, H ...

2–2

References

External links

*
Tan Boon Heong
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Boon Heong 1987 births Living people People from Alor Setar Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian sportspeople of Chinese descent Malaysian male badminton players Badminton players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of Malaysia Badminton players at the 2006 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2010 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Malaysia Asian Games silver medalists for Malaysia Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Asian Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Malaysia Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton Competitors at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games Southeast Asian Games silver medalists for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games medalists in badminton World No. 1 badminton players