Former national badminton great Tan Aik Mong died, believed to be due to liver cancer, at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre in Petaling Jaya, at 3.30 pm yesterday. He was 70.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president, Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria in a statement issued last night said the national body is deeply saddened over the passing of the Aik Mong who had made an immense contribution to Malaysian badminton during his glory days in the 1960s and 70s.
“BAM wish to express our deepest condolences to the family of the late Tan Aik Mong over the passing of someone who has done so much for BAM and Malaysian badminton. He will be missed dearly by the badminton fraternity,” he said.
“The thoughts of everyone at BAM are with Aik Mong’s family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time,” Mohamad Norza added.
Aik Mong, the younger brother of another Malaysian badminton great, Tan Aik Huang, the All-England men’s singles champion in 1966, donned national colours from 1966-1975.
The Penang-born helped Malaysia to finish as runners-up in the 1970 Thomas Cup which was held in Kuala Lumpur, besides winning two silver medals in the 1973 SEAP Games (currently known as SEA Games) in Singapore.
The late Aik Mong’s biggest achievement was securing the gold medal in the men’s singles event at the 1971 Asian Badminton Championships in Jakarta.
A computer analyst by profession, he also had two stints (1984-85 and 2013) as coaching and training committee chairman of the BA of Malaysia (BAM).
In 2013, he was hired by then BAM president Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff to head the committee but left after 18 days as his presence stirred uneasiness among the national coaches.