Tan Aik Mong

Tan Aik Mong was a Malaysian Chinese badminton player who competed at the 1972 Olympic badminton demonstration tournament. He was the younger brother of Tan Aik Huang, another badminton legend. Tan Aik Mong won the gold medal in men's singles at the 1971 Asian Championships, defeating Junji Honma of Japan in the final. He also won the silver medal in men's singles at the 1973 Southeast Asian Games, losing to Punch Gunalan of Malaysia in the final. He was part of the Malaysian team that won the Thomas Cup in 1970, beating Indonesia in the final. He also reached the finals of several international tournaments, such as the Singapore Open, the Denmark Open, and the Jakarta Open, in both singles and doubles events. He retired from competitive badminton in 1975, but remained active in the sport as a coach and administrator. He was appointed as the technical director of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in 2013, but resigned after a few months due to disagreements with the management. He passed away on May 31, 2020, at the age of 70, after battling liver cancer. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest badminton players of his generation, and a gentle giant in the badminton fraternity.