Tan Aik Huang PJN AMN (Chinese: 陳奕芳; pinyin: Chén Yìfāng, born 14 February 1946)[1] is a Malaysian retired badminton player noted for his footwork and patience.
Additionally, Tan holds the distinction of being the first Malaysian shuttler in the Commonwealth Games to win gold medals in two individual events.
[1] His interest in badminton began in 1957, when he was 11 years old and started training under the guidance of Penang's veteran player Lee Peng Joo.
[8] Tan's talent began to shine through as he won the boys' under 14 singles and doubles titles in the Penang Combined School Championships.
[8] Tan continued to impress at the junior level, winning the 1962 Penang boys' singles and doubles titles[9] and eventually gaining promotion to senior status.
[17] In May, at the World Invitation Tournament held in Tokyo, Japan, he put on a great showing, reaching the final in the men's singles but unfortunately lost to his fellow Thomas Cup teammate, Tan Yee Khan.
[21] In August, at the second Malaysia Open, he became the youngest champion at 19 years old by beating arch-rival Yew Cheng Hoe in the men's singles final.
[24] In 1966, Tan kicked off his Europe tour by defeating Singapore's Lee Kin Tat in a hard-fought three-set match at the Surrey Open.
[26] However, he did reach the men's doubles final with Yew Cheng Hoe, but they lost to the top-seeded Malaysian pair of Ng Boon Bee and Tan Yee Khan.
[28] At the World Invitation Tournament held in Glasgow, Scotland, he did one better than the previous year by reaching the men's singles final where he defeated Japan's Masao Akiyama to win the title.
[29] In late March, Tan had the biggest breakthrough of his career when he won the men's singles title at the All England Open, then considered the unofficial World Badminton Championships, by defeating Masao Akiyama 15–7, 15–4 in the final.
[30] He maintained his impressive form in the Americas tour by winning the Canada Open title, beating his compatriot Yew Cheng Hoe in the final.
[34] He also won the men's doubles title with his partner Eddy Choong, defeating the Thai pair of Sangob Rattanusorn and Chavalert Chumkum.
[35] His red hot form continued at the Perak Open where he would beat the up and coming Rudy Hartono of Indonesia, in three games, to win the men's singles final.
[42] In June, as a member of the 1967 Thomas Cup squad, Tan won two out of his three matches to help Malaysia beat Indonesia in a highly controversial final in which play was suspended due to the unruly crowd.
[48] In October, Tan won two more men's singles title at the Malaysia and Singapore Opens by beating Ippei Kojima of Japan on both occasion.
[54] At the World Invitation Tournament held in Glasgow, Scotland, Tan achieved an impressive victory by defeating the current All England champion Rudy Hartono in the semifinals in straight games.
He also suffered a defeat in the men's doubles semi-final with his brother Tan Aik Mong, losing to the English pair of David Eddy and Roger Powell.
[59] At the Malaysia Pesta held later that month, Tan had a surprising loss to his fellow countryman Punch Gunalan in the men's singles semi-finals after three exhausting games.
[66] In October, he only took part in the men's doubles event with Dominic Soong at the Singapore Open, but the pair suffered an early round exit to Indonesians Lee Wah Chin and Theng Thay Hien.
[67] In December, at the 1971 Southeast Asian Games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tan was part of the men's team that won gold in the inter-team event.
[71] After a two-year absence, he made a return to the All England Open, but he was knocked out by Svend Pri in the quarter-finals of the men's singles event in straight games.
[1] In February 1974, Tan married his long time girlfriend, Loh Wei Ling, a former Penang junior champion, at the Civil Marriage Registry in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.