Rudy Hartono

Rudy Hartono Kurniawan (born Nio Hap Liang (Chinese: 梁海量; pinyin: Liáng Hǎiliàng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Niô͘ Hái-liâng);[2] 18 August 1949) is an Indonesian former badminton player holding the record of winning the men's singles title at the All-England Championship eight times,[3] including seven times consecutively from 1968 to 1974.

[7] His sister Utami Dewi is a five-time national badminton champion and former Indonesia Uber Cup team member.

He would train for almost the entire day in a small badminton club set up by his father in a railway station warehouse.

[1][9] As a member of the 1967 Thomas Cup squad, Hartono won all of his matches, but Indonesia was beaten by Malaysia in a highly controversial final in which play was suspended due to the unruly crowd.

[4] In 1975, in search of his eighth consecutive title and the chance to break Erland Kops’s record of seven, Hartono would once again face the challenge of his archrival, Svend Pri, who he had beaten before in the 1970 and 1972 finals, but this time he was not able to fend off the Dane’s attack and fell to a 11–15, 14–17 defeat.

[12] Hartono, however, came back the following year to win his eighth title against his compatriot Liem Swie King thus becoming the most successful men’s singles player in the history of the tournament.

In 1969, he won the Canadian[15] and the US Open[16] titles after defeating Sture Johnsson and his compatriot Muljadi in the respective finals.

[20] In 1973 and 1975, Hartono won his second and third Denmark Open titles after beating Flemming Delfs and Svend Pri respectively.

[26] In the 1972 Munich Games in which badminton was presented as a demonstration sport, Hartono won the men’s singles event, after beating Jamie Paulson of Canada in the first round, Sture Johnsson of Sweden in the semi-finals, and Svend Pri of Denmark in the final.

"[33] Hartono became involved with the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), holding different positions such as Chairman of Development Affairs until 2006.

Hartono’s image and reputation led the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to appoint him as a Goodwill Ambassador for Indonesia.

[7] A film lover, Hartono once starred in an Indonesian movie titled "Matinja Seorang Bidadari" (Death of An Angel) in 1971.