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Eddy Choong 庄友明
Choong, circa 1953
Personal information
Birth name	Choong Ewe Beng
Country	Malaya Malaysia
Born	(1931-05-29)29 May 1931 Penang, British Malaya
Died	28 January 2013(2013-01-28) (aged 81) George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Handedness	Right
Event	Men's singles, men's and mixed doubles
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Malaya Thomas Cup 1955 Singapore Team 1958 Singapore Team Representing  Malaysia Asian Games 1966 Bangkok Mixed doubles 1966 Bangkok Men's team

Dato' Choong Ewe Beng DSPN (29 May 1931 – 28 January 2013) was a Malaysian badminton player. He was David Choong's brother and they played men's doubles together.

Early life

Choong Ewe Beng, also known as Eddy, was born on 29 May 1931, and was the third son of a wealthy family in Penang. His parents were named Dato' Choong Eng Hai and Datin Ho Guat Im.

Choong first went to primary and secondary school in Penang before moving to England at the turn of the 1950s to study law and medicine. His passion for the sport quickly eclipsed his studies and Eddy later said his studies were “long forgotten”.

In the UK, Eddie was much attracted to the Jim Russell School of racing driving and enrolled, but parental pressure forced him to re-think his priorities. However, his passion for driving took him to other aspects of motor sports, and when back on Penang, he revelled in grass track, hill climbs and karting. He was extremely active in introducing the "Penang Karting Grand Prix" in Georgetown, which attracted karters from all over the Far East.

In 1966, with the All-England men's Singles and Doubles titles being won by Malaysians, an exhibition match was arranged at the Georgetown Chinese Girls' High School, with the pinnacle match being between the then current doubles champions, Ng Boon Bee and Tan Yee Khan, and Tan Aik Huang and Eddie Choong.

Career

Measuring at 1.62 metres (5 ft 4 in), Eddy was smaller than most of his European competitors but he made up for the height difference with endless energy and amazing acrobatic jumps that triggered a running gag about Eddy hiding springs in his shoes. Eddy was considered to be one of the first athletes to do a jump smash. His trademark shot was known as the “Airborne Kill”.

He won hundreds of regional titles and over 65 international titles in all three disciplines from 1949 to 1966. Eddy won many of these titles partnering his brother, David Choong, and his cousin, Amy Choong. Thirty of his international titles were gained from 1951 to 1953.

Choong won the men's singles at the All England Open Badminton Championships four times between 1953 and 1957 when it was considered the unofficial world championship of the sport. He also reached the All-England singles final in 1952 and 1955 and won the men's doubles with his brother in 1951, 1952, and 1953. He was a member of the 1955 Malayan Thomas Cup (men's international) team which retained the world team championship, and the 1958 team which surrendered the title to Indonesia

After retirement

Eddy settled in his native Penang for his retirement. After badminton, he bred dogs and raced fast cars and go-karts. He was a good driver and made a name for himself in motor racing after winning many titles from 1967 to 1982. Eddy was also the chairman of the Hock Hin Brothers Group which was his family business in real estate and housing development. Additionally, Eddy was involved at a high level in kennel associations in Malaysia.

In 1995, Eddy became the vice-president of the Penang Badminton Association and chairman of the Badminton Association of Malaysia Technical Advisory Panel. He focused on developing badminton in his native Penang. Choong used his own money to convert a family factory into Penang's first indoor badminton stadium. He later invested 1.5 million MYR to build the Penang International Badminton Hall. It opened in 1992.

Racial issues

Eddy was also a strong promoter of racial equality. Partially due to bad experiences during his childhood, Eddy was sensitive to racial issues. Eddy saw his performances in badminton as a way of showing that all races can be equally good at sport.

At the 1956 All England, he refused to attend the traditional celebration dinner because he felt the organisers treated him unfairly due to racial discrimination. On another occasion, Jørn Skaarup of Denmark gave away a match to Choong in which he felt the Malaysian was treated unfairly. Skaarup earned Choong's respect and friendship with his fair play.

Personal life

In 1959, Eddy married Maggie Thean Sun Lin. Together, they had 4 sons – Finn, Lionel, Antonio and Jorgen. His eldest son, Finn, and third son, Jorgen, were named after Eddy's longtime badminton rivals and friends, Finn Kobero and Jorgen Hamergard Hansan, respectively.

Death

Eddy died on 28 January 2013 at the age of 82.

Awards

In 1994, Eddy won the Herbert Scheele award and was inducted into the IBF Hall of Fame in 1997.

Eddy made such an influence on the game that the IBF named an award after him: The Eddie Choong Player of the Year. This award was given to players who achieved exceptional results during a given year. Peter Gade was the first player to win this award in 1998. In 2008, the award was renamed the Eddie Choong Most Promising Player of the Year and given to the player who showed to be the most promising during a calendar year.

Honours

•  Penang :
  • Officer of the Order of the Defender of State (D.S.P.N.) – Dato' (1996)

Achievements

Asian Games

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1966	Kittikachorn Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Tan Gaik Bee	Teh Kew San Rosalind Singha Ang	13–18, 15–11, 5–15	Silver

International tournaments

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1951	Denmark Open	Wong Peng Soon	8–15, 5–15	Runner-up
1952	All England	Wong Peng Soon	11–15, 13–18	Runner-up
1952	French Open	David Choong	15–5, 15–8	Winner
1953	All England	Johnny Heah	15–4, 15–4	Winner
1953	Denmark Open	Finn Kobberø	15–3, 15–7	Winner
1953	French Open	David Choong	15–3, 15–7	Winner
1954	All England	Donald Smythe	15–5, 15–6	Winner
1955	All England	Wong Peng Soon	7–15, 17–14, 10–15	Runner-up
1956	All England	Finn Kobberø	11–15, 15–3, 15–11	Winner
1957	All England	Erland Kops	15–9, 15–3	Winner
1957	German Open	Ferry Sonneville	15–12, 15–12	Winner
1957	Malaysia Open			Winner
1960	Malaysia Open			Winner

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1951	All England	David Choong	Ong Poh Lim Ismail Marjan	9–15, 15–7, 15–10	Winner
1951	French Open	Cheong Hock Leng	Ong Poh Lim Ismail Marjan	7–15, 7–15	Runner-up
1952	All England	David Choong	Poul Holm Ole Jensen	9–15, 15–12, 15–7	Winner
1952	French Open	David Choong	Henri Pellizza Paul Ailloud	15–2, 15–5	Winner
1953	All England	David Choong	Poul Holm Ole Jensen	15–5, 15–12	Winner
1953	Denmark Open	David Choong	Poul Holm Ole Jensen	15–6, 15–9	Winner
1953	French Open	David Choong	Peter Birtwistle S. L. Jaini		Winner
1954	All England	David Choong	Ong Poh Lim Ooi Teik Hock	16–18, 12–15	Runner-up
1955	All England	David Choong	Finn Kobberø Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen	9–15, 17–14, 11–15	Runner-up
1957	All England	David Choong	Joe Alston Johnny Heah	10–15, 17–16, 5–15	Runner-up
1957	German Open	David Choong	Ferry Sonneville Arne Rasmussen	15–9, 17–18, 15–9	Winner
1959	Malaysia Open	Erland Kops	Teh Kew San Lim Say Hup	11–15, 9–15	Runner-up
1966	Malaysia Open	Tan Aik Huang	Sangob Rattanusorn Chavalert Chumkum	17–14, 15–12	Winner
1966	Singapore Open	Yew Cheng Hoe	Tan Yee Khan Khor Cheng Chye	15–13, 8–15, 15–2	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1951	French Open	Queenie Webber	Cheong Hock Leng Audrey Stone	15–7, 15–7	Winner
1952	French Open	Queenie Webber	David Choong Mimi Wyatt	12–15, 15–1, 15–11	Winner
1953	Denmark Open	Agnete Friis	David Choong Inger Kjærgaard	18–17, 15–5	Winner
1953	French Open	Jenifer Peters	Peter Birtwistle Betty Grace		Winner
1957	German Open	Barbara Carpenter	Erland Kops Agnete Friis	6–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1963	Malaysia Open	Tan Gaik Bee	Bobby Chee Ewe Choon Ghee	4–15, 15–4, 15–6	Winner
1966	Penang Open	Rosalind Singha Ang	Abdul Patah Unang Minarni		Runner-up
1966	Perak Open	Minarni	Tan Yee Khan Retno Koestijah	9–15, 11–15	Runner-up

References

1. "Interview with Eddy Choong". Retrieved 29 June 2016.
2. ^ "Eddy Choong | BWF Virtual Museum".
3. Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1971 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1971) 163.
4. Scheele, 75, 76, 84.
5. "Badminton legend Eddy Choong dies ⋆ The Malaysian Times". themalaysiantimes.com.my. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
6. "BWF Hall of fame members". Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.

Sources

• Eddy Choong - MSN Encarta( Archived 2 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine 2009-10-31)
• Eddy Choong, Fred Brundle: Badminton. Foyles Handbooks, London, Foyle, 1955
• Eddy Choong, Fred Brundle: The Phoenix Book of Badminton – Its history, the development of the shuttlecock, the diversity of style and tactics, and the badminton world of today, London, Phoenix Sports Books, 1956

• 1931 births
• 2013 deaths
• Malaysian sportspeople of Chinese descent
• Malaysian male badminton players
• Asian Games medalists in badminton
• Badminton players at the 1966 Asian Games
• Sportspeople from Penang
• Asian Games silver medalists for Malaysia
• Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games