Cheah Soon Kit

In this Chinese name, the family name is Cheah (谢).

Datuk Cheah Soon Kit (Current name: Chinese: 謝勛寁; Jyutping: Ze6 Fan1 Zaam2; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiā Hun-chám / Birth name: Chinese: 謝順吉; Jyutping: Ze6 Seon6 Gat1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiā Sūn-kiat) PMW KMN BSD (born 9 January 1968) is a former Malaysian badminton player and coach.^[1]

Cheah Soon Kit 谢勋寁
Personal information
Country	Malaysia
Born	(1968-01-09) 9 January 1968 (age 54) Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Years active	1986–2000
Handedness	Right
Men's doubles
Highest ranking	1 (1992)
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Malaysia Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Men's doubles World Championships 1993 Birmingham Men's doubles 1997 Glasgow Men's doubles 1995 Lausanne Men's doubles World Cup 1992 Guangzhou Men's doubles 1994 Ho Chi Minh Men's doubles 1990 Jakarta Men's doubles 1993 New Delhi Men's doubles 1995 Jakarta Men's doubles 1996 Jakarta Men's doubles Thomas Cup 1992 Kuala Lumpur Team 1988 Kuala Lumpur Team 1990 Tokyo Team 1994 Jakarta Team 1998 Hong Kong Team 1986 Jakarta Team Commonwealth Games 1994 Victoria Men's doubles 1998 Kuala Lumpur Men's team 1990 Auckland Men's doubles 1994 Victoria Mixed team 1998 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles Asian Games 1990 Beijing Men's team 1994 Hiroshima Men's doubles 1994 Hiroshima Men's team Asian Championships 1995 Beijing Men's doubles 1989 Shanghai Men's team 1991 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles 1999 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles Asian Cup 1991 Jakarta Men's doubles 1994 Beijing Men's doubles 1995 Qingdao Men's doubles Southeast Asian Games 1989 Kuala Lumpur Men's team 1991 Manila Men's team 1993 Singapore Men's doubles 1995 Chiang Mai Men's doubles 1987 Jakarta Men's team 1993 Singapore Men's team 1995 Chiang Mai Men's team 1997 Jakarta Men's team 1989 Kuala Lumpur Mixed doubles 1991 Manila Men's doubles

Cheah Soon Kit
Traditional Chinese	謝順吉
Simplified Chinese	谢顺吉
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiè Shùnjí Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Ze6 Seon6 Gat1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Chiā Sūn-kiat

Career

Known for his amazing jumping smash, Soon Kit was one of the top doubles stars in the world in his heyday. He won the Olympic silver with Yap Kim Hock in Atlanta 1996.^[2] Before combining with Kim Hock, Soon Kit’s partner was Soo Beng Kiang and they won numerous international titles, including the 1992 and 1994 World Cup.^[3] He was also a vital member of the Malaysian squad that won the Thomas Cup for the first time in 25 years, in a 3-2 victory over Indonesia at the Stadium Negara in 1992.^[4]

Coaching

Soon Kit became the national women’s doubles coach from 2001 to 2007.^[5] He groomed Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui into the country’s top pair. Pei Tty-Eei Hui bagged the SEA Games gold in Manila in 2005 to end a 30-year title drought. They also won the gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.^[6] After becoming the head coach for several minor badminton clubs, Soon Kit rejoined the national set-up in 2016 before heading the men’s doubles department in 2017 and was instrumental in grooming the current Malaysia No.1 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik. He left the national setup at the end of 2018.^[7]

Achievements

Olympic Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	GSU Sports Arena, Atlanta, United States	Yap Kim Hock	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	15–5, 13–15, 12–15	Silver

World Championships

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1993	National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England	Soo Beng Kiang	Rudy Gunawan   Ricky Subagja	11–15, 3–15	Silver
1995	Malley Sports Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland	Yap Kim Hock	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	8–15, 6–15	Bronze
1997	Scotstoun Centre, Glasgow, Scotland	Yap Kim Hock	Sigit Budiarto   Candra Wijaya	15–8, 17–18, 7–15	Silver

World Cup

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1990	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Soo Beng Kiang	Eddy Hartono   Rudy Gunawan	13–18, 13–18	Bronze
1992	Guangdong Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China	Soo Beng Kiang	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	15–10, 15–11	Gold
1993	Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India	Soo Beng Kiang	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	9–15, 11–15	Bronze
1994	Phan Dinh Phung Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Soo Beng Kiang	Rudy Gunawan   Bambang Suprianto	18–13, 2–15, 17–16	Gold
1995	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Yap Kim Hock	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	13–18, 9–15	Bronze
1996	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Yap Kim Hock	Denny Kantono   Antonius Ariantho	11–15, 15–3, 13–15	Bronze

Asian Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1994	Tsuru Memorial Gymnasium, Hiroshima, Japan	Soo Beng Kiang	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	10–15, 2–15	Silver

Asian Championships

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1991	Cheras Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Soo Beng Kiang	Park Joo-bong   Kim Moon-soo	7–15, 7–15	Bronze
1995	Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Beijing, China	Yap Kim Hock	Huang Zhanzhong   Jiang Xin	7–15, 15–8, 15–7	Gold
1999	Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yap Kim Hock	Zhang Jun   Zhang Wei	16–17, 8–15	Bronze

Asian Cup

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1991	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Soo Beng Kiang	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	17–16, 15–5	Gold
1994	Beijing Gymnasium, Beijing, China	Soo Beng Kiang	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	8–15, 7–15	Silver
1995	Xinxing Gymnasium, Qingdao, China	Yap Kim Hock	Huang Zhanzhong   Jiang Xin	10–15, 11–15	Silver

Southeast Asian Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1991	Camp Crame Gymnasium, Manila, Philippines	Soo Beng Kiang	Eddy Hartono   Rudy Gunawan	7–15, 3–15	Bronze
1993	Singapore Badminton Hall, Singapore	Soo Beng Kiang	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	15–7, 11–15, 15–7	Gold
1995	Gymnasium 3, 700th Anniversary Sport Complex, Chiang Mai, Thailand	Yap Kim Hock	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	15–13, 15–9	Gold

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1989	Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Tan Sui Hoon	Aryono Miranat   Minarti Timur	14–18, 1–15	Bronze

Commonwealth Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1990	Auckland Badminton Hall, Auckland, New Zealand	Rashid Sidek	Razif Sidek   Jalani Sidek	8–15, 8–15	Silver
1994	McKinnon Gym, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada	Soo Beng Kiang	Simon Archer   Chris Hunt	15–10, 15–9	Gold
1998	Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yap Kim Hock	Choong Tan Fook   Lee Wan Wah	7–15, 4–15	Silver

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1990	World Grand Prix Finals	Soo Beng Kiang	Rudy Gunawan   Eddy Hartono	6–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1991	Chinese Taipei Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Jalani Sidek   Razif Sidek	7–15, 5–15	Runner-up
1991	Swedish Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Jon Holst-Christensen   Thomas Lund	18–14, 15–7	Winner
1991	Thailand Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Rudy Gunawan   Eddy Hartono	3–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1992	Chinese Taipei Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Jalani Sidek   Tan Kim Her	15–7, 15–4	Winner
1992	Malaysia Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Chen Hongyong   Chen Kang	15–12, 15–7	Winner
1992	World Grand Prix Finals	Soo Beng Kiang	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	11–15, 6–15	Runner-up
1993	Chinese Taipei Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Imay Hendra   Bagus Setiadi	15–3, 15–12	Winner
1993	Malaysia Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	7–15, 5–15	Runner-up
1993	Dutch Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Jiang Xin   Yu Qi	15–4, 17–14	Winner
1995	Malaysia Open	Yap Kim Hock	Pramote Teerawiwatana   Sakrapee Thongsari	15–5, 12–15, 5–15	Runner-up
1995	Thailand Open	Yap Kim Hock	Huang Zhanzhong   Jiang Xin	9–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1995	World Grand Prix Finals	Yap Kim Hock	Rudy Gunawan   Bambang Suprianto	13–18, 15–2, 15–12	Winner
1996	Korea Open	Yap Kim Hock	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	5–15, 14–15	Runner-up
1996	All England Open	Yap Kim Hock	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	6–15, 5–15	Runner-up
1996	Malaysia Open	Yap Kim Hock	Choong Tan Fook   Lee Wan Wah	15–5, 15–3	Winner
1996	US Open	Yap Kim Hock	Sigit Budiarto   Candra Wijaya	16–18, 10–15	Runner-up
1996	Hong Kong Open	Yap Kim Hock	Antonius Ariantho   Denny Kantono	6–15, 3–15	Runner-up
1996	World Grand Prix Finals	Yap Kim Hock	Rexy Mainaky   Ricky Subagja	4–15, 9–15	Runner-up
1997	Korea Open	Yap Kim Hock	Ha Tae-kwon   Kang Kyung-jin	15–4, 13–15, 5–15	Runner-up
1997	World Grand Prix Finals	Yap Kim Hock	Sigit Budiarto   Candra Wijaya	15–17, 15–11, 5–15	Runner-up
1998	Japan Open	Yap Kim Hock	Antonius Ariantho   Denny Kantono	15–9, 15–7	Winner
1998	Dutch Open	Choong Tan Fook	Peter Axelsson   Pär-Gunnar Jönsson	15–11, 15–9	Winner
1999	Chinese Taipei Open	Choong Tan Fook	Antonius Ariantho   Denny Kantono	4–15, 17–14, 8–15	Runner-up
1999	Hong Kong Open	Yap Kim Hock	Sigit Budiarto   Halim Haryanto	15–12, 15–12	Winner
2000	Chinese Taipei Open	Yap Kim Hock	Tony Gunawan   Candra Wijaya	7–15, 7–15	Runner-up

IBF International

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1992	Canada Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Ahn Jae-chang   Choi Ji-tae	15–4, 15–4	Winner
1992	US Open	Soo Beng Kiang	Thomas Lund   Jens Olsson	15–9, 15–11	Winner

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

•   Malaysia :
  •   Herald of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia (BSD) (1988)^[8]
  •   Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (1992)^[8]
•   Federal Territory (Malaysia) :
  •   Knight Commander of the Order of the Territorial Crown (PMW) – Datuk (2021)^[9][10]

References

1. Talkah, Oleh Helmi (10 December 2018). "Kontrak Soon Kit, 3 jurulatih tak disambung". BH Online (in Malay). Retrieved 31 March 2020.
2. "Switch that turned on the power". The Star. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
3. "Badminton: Switch that turned on the power | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
4. "The long, memorable road to victory | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
5. "Badminton: Soon Kit's the man for BAM to revive doubles fortunes | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
6. "Badminton: Soon Kit ready to restore Malaysian badminton to former glory | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
7. "Badminton: Kejian the latest to join exodus of coaches from BAM | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
8. . Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
9. "Seramai 335 terima darjah kebesaran sempena Hari Wilayah". Berita Harian (in Malay). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
10. "Rashid, Soon Kit dapat gelaran Datuk". Berita Harian (in Malay). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

• Soon Kit CHEAH at BWF.tournamentsoftware.com (alternative link)
• Soon Kit CHEAH at BWFbadminton.com
• Cheah Soon Kit at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)