His granduncle is Wong Ah Fook,[8] who was a good friend of Sultan Abu Bakar and was the contractor responsible for the construction of Istana Besar.

His career began when he joined Mayflower Badminton Party[10] in Singapore as a teenager, and went on to win numerous club and interstate competitions.

[1] In addition to his singles success, he also secured four men's doubles titles in 1938 with Chan Chim Bock,[11] in 1947 with Wong Chong Teck,[12] and in 1948 and 1949 with Teoh Peng Hooi.

[17] With a total of 14 combined titles, Wong was the second most successful male shuttler in the competition's history, trailing only behind rival, Ong Poh Lim.

Wong captured his first two Malaysia Open singles titles in 1940[18] and 1941[19] before a hiatus due to World War II interrupted his career until 1947, when he reclaimed the crown.

[21] His eight Malaysian singles titles were also a long-standing international circuit record jointly held by the legendary Rudy Hartono (eight-time All England champion) and Morten Frost (eight-time Denmark Open champion) till it was surpassed by Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in 2013.

[18] In 1950, he became the first Asian to win the All-England men's singles championship, and won the title again in 1951, 1952, and 1955, earning him an international reputation as the "Great Wong".

[1][43] Wong married Doreen Poi Chim Neo at a church in Seremban on 3 August 1947[44] and moved to Singapore shortly after.

[3] His wake was attended by the officials from Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) as well as then Minister for Community Development, Abdullah Tarmugi.

[48][49] In 1962, he made local history as the first and still the only sportsperson to date to be awarded the Sijil Kemuliaan (Certificate of Honour) by the Government of Singapore.