FORMER national badminton great Tan Aik Mong died at Subang Jaya Medical Centre in Petaling Jaya at 3.30pm today. He was 70.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) presiden Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the national body is deeply saddened over the passing of Tan who had made an immense contribution to Malaysian badminton during his glory days in the 1960s and 70s.

“BAM wishes 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,” Norza said.

Tan, 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. 

He 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 (now known as SEA Games) in Singapore.

Tan’s biggest achievement was securing the men’s singles gold medal at the 1971 Asian Badminton Championships in Jakarta.

The Penang-born also held various post with BAM, including as its Talent Management Group director in 2013. – Bernama, May 31, 2020.