Tan Wee Kiong AMN (Chinese: 陳蔚強; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Ùi-kiông; 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 doubles and the mixed team event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. They also won bronze at the 2014 Asian Games. In their Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics, they won the silver medal, becoming the first Malaysian pair to achieve such a feat since 1996.[1][2] In November 2016, they reached a career-high ranking of world number 1, making them the fourth ever Malaysian men's doubles pair to do so, after Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock, Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng, and Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong.

Tan Wee Kiong
陈蔚强
Personal information
CountryMalaysia
Born (1989-05-21) 21 May 1989 (age 34)
Muar, Johor, Malaysia
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
HandednessRight
CoachCheah Soon Kit
Men's doubles
Highest ranking1 (with Goh V Shem) (7 November 2016)
Current ranking569 (with Goh V Shem)
44 (with Tan Kian Meng) (6 June 2023)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Malaysia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Men's doubles
Thomas Cup
Silver medal – second place 2014 New Delhi Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Kunshan Men's team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Men's doubles
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast Men's doubles
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon Men's team
Asia Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Alor Setar Men's team
Southeast Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Singapore Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Men's team
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Incheon Mixed team
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Kuala Lumpur Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2007 Kuala Lumpur Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2006 Kuala Lumpur Mixed doubles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Kuala Lumpur Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2007 Kuala Lumpur Boys' doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Kuala Lumpur Boys' doubles
BWF profile
Tan Wee Kiong
Traditional Chinese陳煒強
Simplified Chinese陈炜强
Commonwealth Games 2014 badminton double final

Early and personal life edit

Tan was born on 21 May 1989 in Johor to Tan Cham Swe and Tan Yok Hua. His brothers, Tan Wee Tat and Tan Wee Gieen, are also professional badminton players. Tan started playing badminton when he was 6 and joined Bukit Jalil Sport School when he was 13.[3] Tan and beautician Chia Shi Leng wed in 2016.[4] Due to Tan's tight schedule, their wedding reception was held in December 2017 at The St. Regis Hotel Kuala Lumpur, with 700 guests in attendance.[5] The couple welcomed their first son in March 2019.[6]

Career edit

Early career edit

Tan started his junior career as a mixed doubles player. However, he later transitioned into men's doubles. In 2007, he won the Asian Junior Championships mixed doubles gold medal with Woon Khe Wei. They were seeded second and first at the 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships but were defeated in the fourth round on both occasions.

2010–2014 edit

In 2010, he briefly partnered Mak Hee Chun. They played together at the 2010 Asian Games but were beaten in the round of 32. Later, he partnered Hoon Thien How. They reached a career high of no. 7 worldwide. Their campaign at the 2013 World Championships ended in the third round after a loss to Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. Later that year, the pair reached their first ever Super Series semifinal at the French Open. Shortly after, the two won their first career title at the Macau Open. They were runners-up at the China Open and in that same year, they qualified for the Super Series Finals after the withdrawal of compatriots, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong. However, they failed to advance past the group stage.

Tan played his last tournament with Hoon at the 2014 World Championships in August 2014. Their campaign ended in the quarterfinals where they lost to the eventual champions, Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol.

2014–2021 edit

In May 2014, Tan was scratch partnered with Goh V Shem to play second men's doubles at the 2014 Thomas Cup. They won all four matches that they contested and defeated several highly ranked players along the way despite this being the first time ever that the two has played together internationally. Their debut partnership at the Thomas Cup was widely praised. Malaysia made it to the finals for the first time in 12 years but was narrowly defeated by Japan with a score of 2–3.

In August, Tan represented Malaysia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with Goh V Shem. They went on to take the gold medal and were the only medalists in the tournament who were not seeded. En route to the gold medal, they defeated top seeds, Chris Adcock and Andrew Ellis of England in the semifinals as well as 3rd seeds, Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Chayut Triyachart of Singapore in the finals. They also won all five matches they contested in the mixed team event, helping Malaysia secure their third consecutive mixed team gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Following the World Championships in September, Tan and Goh have been officially partnered. They represented Malaysia at the 2014 Asian Games where they made it to semifinals but were defeated by top seeds, Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong of South Korea. The defeat automatically earned them the bronze medal as there is no bronze medal playoffs in badminton at the Asian Games. En route to the semifinals, they defeated 5th seeds, Lee Sheng-mu and Tsai Chia-hsin of Chinese Taipei in the round of 32 and 3rd seeds, Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan in the quarterfinals with a score of 21–16, 21–16.

They were semifinalists at the Malaysia Masters in January that year. In March, they became runners-up to Cai Yun and Lu Kai at the Swiss Open. At the 2015 Sudirman Cup in May, Goh and Tan managed to upset the World No. 1, Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong in the first group tie against South Korea. Malaysia topped Group D and were drawn against South Korea once again in the quarterfinals but failed to advance. At the 2015 World Championships in August, Tan and Goh defeated defending champions Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol in the second round but were defeated in the third round. Tan and Goh won their first title together at the 2015 U.S. Grand Prix.[7] They then went on to win their second title at the 2016 Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold.[8] They then became beaten semifinalists at the All England Open and the Indian Super Series. At the 2016 Thomas Cup, Tan won three out of his five matches played. Malaysia made it to the semifinals but lost to eventual winners Denmark.

Tan and Goh made their Olympics debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics. They won all their matches in the group stage to top group B and qualify for the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, they stun Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong to reach the semi-finals.[9] Tan and Goh later beat Chai Biao and Hong Wei in the semifinals. They once again face Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan in the finals but this time falling short with a score of 21–16, 11–21, 21–23, taking home silver.[10]

In October 2016, Tan won his first Super Series tournament title with Goh at the 2016 Denmark Open.[11] In November, they became the new world number 1 in men's doubles.[12] In December, Tan and Goh won the 2016 Dubai World Superseries Finals.[13]

He briefly partnered with Ong Yew Sin before resuming his partnership with Goh in early 2018.

His partnership was resumed with Goh V Shem in order to help Malaysia in 2018 Thomas Cup. In the group stage, they defeated Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov from Russia. They were defeated by Denmark and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon of Indonesia by three sets 19–21, 22–20 and 13–21.

2021–present edit

In August 2021, Tan ended his partnership with Goh V Shem and sought Tan Kian Meng as his new partner.[14] His first tournament with Kian Meng was the 2021 Dutch Open where they made it to the finals and lost by three sets 14–21, 21–18, 20–22 to Terry Hee and Loh Kean Hean from Singapore.

Achievements edit

Olympic Games edit

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2016 Riocentro - Pavilion 4, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil   Goh V Shem   Fu Haifeng
  Zhang Nan
21–16, 11–21, 21–23   Silver

Commonwealth Games edit

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 Emirates Arena,
Glasgow, Scotland
  Goh V Shem   Danny Bawa Chrisnanta
  Chayut Triyachart
21–12, 12–21, 21–15   Gold
2018 Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre,
Gold Coast, Australia
  Goh V Shem   Sachin Dias
  Buwaneka Goonethilleka
21–8, 21–13   Bronze

Asian Games edit

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 Gyeyang Gymnasium,
Incheon, South Korea
  Goh V Shem   Lee Yong-dae
  Yoo Yeon-seong
6–21, 15–21   Bronze

Asian Junior Championships edit

Boys' doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2006 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  Mohd Lutfi Zaim   Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif
  Vountus Indra Mawan
  Bronze
2007 Stadium Juara,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  Mohd Lutfi Zaim   Chai Biao
  Li Tian
12–21, 8–21   Silver

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2006 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  Woon Khe Wei   Lee Yong-dae
  Yoo Hyun-young
15–21, 9–21   Silver
2007 Stadium Juara,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  Woon Khe Wei   Shin Baek-cheol
  Yoo Hyun-young
21–18, 16–21, 21–12   Gold

BWF World Tour (2 titles, 3 runners-up) edit

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[15] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[16]

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result
2018 Malaysia Masters Super 500   Goh V Shem   Fajar Alfian
  Muhammad Rian Ardianto
21–14, 22–24, 13–21   Runner-up
2019 Thailand Masters Super 300   Goh V Shem   Lu Ching-yao
  Yang Po-han
21–13, 21–17   Winner
2019 Chinese Taipei Open Super 300   Goh V Shem   Choi Sol-gyu
  Seo Seung-jae
21–19, 15–21, 23–21   Winner
2019 Korea Masters Super 300   Goh V Shem   Lee Yang
  Wang Chi-lin
19–21, 22–20, 19–21   Runner-up
2020 (I) Thailand Open Super 1000   Goh V Shem   Lee Yang
  Wang Chi-lin
16–21, 23–21, 19–21   Runner-up

BWF Superseries (2 titles, 1 runner-up) edit

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[17] was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (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.[18] Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2013 China Open   Hoon Thien How   Lee Yong-dae
  Yoo Yeon-seong
13–21, 12–21   Runner-up
2016 Denmark Open   Goh V Shem   Bodin Isara
  Nipitphon Puangpuapech
14–21, 22–20, 21-19   Winner
2016 Dubai World Superseries Finals   Goh V Shem   Takeshi Kamura
  Keigo Sonoda
21–14, 21-19   Winner
  BWF Superseries Finals tournament
  BWF Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 2 runners-up) edit

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2013 Macau Open   Hoon Thien How   Lee Sheng-mu
  Tsai Chia-hsin
21–16, 21–19   Winner
2015 Swiss Open   Goh V Shem   Cai Yun
  Lu Kai
19–21, 21–14, 17–21   Runner-up
2015 Russian Open   Goh V Shem   Vladimir Ivanov
  Ivan Sozonov
20–22, 19–21   Runner-up
2015 U.S. Grand Prix   Goh V Shem   Vladimir Ivanov
  Ivan Sozonov
21–14, 21–17   Winner
2016 Syed Modi International   Goh V Shem   Pranav Chopra
  Akshay Dewalkar
14–21, 24–22, 21–8   Winner
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 3 runners-up) edit

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 Indonesia International   Ow Yao Han   Rian Sukmawan
  Rendra Wijaya
13–21, 21–19, 16–21   Runner-up
2021 Dutch Open   Tan Kian Meng   Terry Hee
  Loh Kean Hean
14–21, 21–18, 20–22   Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2007 Malaysia International   Woon Khe Wei   Lim Khim Wah
  Ng Hui Lin
15–21, 14–21   Runner-up
2009 Malaysia International   Woon Khe Wei   Mak Hee Chun
  Ng Hui Lin
21–6, 13–21, 21–17   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

Honours edit

Honours of Malaysia edit

References edit

  1. ^ Peter, Fabian (13 September 2017). "Writing is on the wall for Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong". www.nst.com.my. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Goh V Shem- Tan Wee Kiong officially quit BAM". www.thesundaily.my. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Meaningful silver medal for Wee Kiong's father". Malaysiakini. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Being married will add more spice to Wee Kiong's game on court". The Star Online. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  5. ^ Helmi Talkah (3 December 2017). "Resepsi perkahwinan Wee Kiong- Shi Leng meriah" (in Malay). Berita Harian. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  6. ^ "First-time father Wee Kiong hopes to find more joy at All-England doubles campaign with V Shem". The Star Online. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  7. ^ Fabian Peter (13 December 2015). "V Shem-Wee Kiong wins US Grand Prix". New Straits Times. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  8. ^ "V Shem-Wee Kiong win in Lucknow". New Straits Times. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  9. ^ Vijesh Rai (15 August 2016). "(Olympics) V Shem-Wee Kiong stun World No 1 Koreans to make semi-finals". New Straits Times. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  10. ^ Vijesh Rai (20 August 2016). "(Olympics) V Shem-Wee Kiong put up spirited fight, earn silver in men's doubles finals". New Straits Times. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  11. ^ "V Shem-Wee Kiong bag Denmark Open men's doubles title". The Malay Mail Online. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  12. ^ Fabian Peter (10 November 2016). "(Badminton) V Shem-Wee Kiong are officially World No 1!". New Straits Times. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  13. ^ Fabian Peter (18 December 2016). "V Shem-Wee Kiong crowned Dubai World Superseries Finals champions [VIDEO]". New Straits Times. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  14. ^ Tan, Ming Wai (8 August 2021). "Games silver medallists Goh and Tan break up partnership". The Star. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  15. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  16. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  17. ^ "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007.
  18. ^ "Yonex All England Elevated To BWF Premier Super Series Event". IBadmintonstore. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  19. ^ Rajes Paul (10 September 2017). "Chong Wei all fired up". The Star. Retrieved 28 July 2018.

External links edit