Derek Wong (born Wong Zi Liang, traditional Chinese: 黃梓良, 13 January 1989) is a retired Singaporean badminton player. Wong is a two-time Olympian, who took part at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, where he was flag bearer in the latter's Parade of Nations.[1]
| Derek Wong 黄梓良 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Wong at 2013 Axiata Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Wong Zi Liang (黄梓良) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Singapore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 13 January 1989 Singapore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Singapore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 185 wins, 156 losses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 37 (29 January 2015) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| BWF profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
editWong was born on 13 January 1989, in Singapore, to parents Wong Shoon Keat and Irene Lee. He grew up in a badminton-loving family with three other brothers (Shawn, Jamie and Jason). Both his parents are former national champions and they own a badminton shop at the old Singapore Badminton Hall. Wong started playing badminton, at age 5 when his father took him to the hall to play badminton for the first time. Since then, he would do his school homework at the shop before playing badminton with some friendly uncles in the hall till his parents closed the shop for the day.[2]
Wong turned professional in 2008 after consulting with his parents and peers, right after his O-levels.[2][3]
Career
edit2011 World Championships
editWong shocked Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat, a former Olympic champion in the second round of the World Championships. He defeated the Indonesian star 21–17, 21–14 to earn a place in the third round against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark.[4]
2011 Southeast Asian Games
editWong upset Vietnam's Nguyễn Tiến Minh, then ranked in the world's top 10, at the quarterfinals of the Sea Games. He also came agonisingly close to upsetting the eventual gold medalist, Simon Santoso, in the next round. He led in the early stages of the semifinal match before succumbing to the Indonesian in straight sets.[4]
2012 London Olympics
editWong's Olympic debut ended after a 21–17, 21–14 loss to Jan Ø. Jørgensen in his final Group I match at London's Wembley Arena on 31 July to finish second in the three-man group. "Of course, I wanted to play more games instead of just two. But being in my first Olympics has been a huge experience, and one that I will use for my career," Wong said afterwards. He had earlier beaten Israel's Misha Zilberman 21–9, 21–15 on 29 July.[5]
2014 Commonwealth Games
editWong advanced to the men's singles final but lost to Parupalli Kashyap of India 14–21, 21–11, 21–19, winning a silver medal.[6]
2016 Rio Olympics
editWong qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics and was the Singaporean flag bearer.[5] During group play, he finished in second place in his group and did not advance.[7]
Retirement
editAfter the 2016 Olympics, Wong resigned from the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), thus confirming his retirement from professional badminton. He later joined consulting firm Deloitte on 26 September 2016, to start his post-badminton career. Wong is also looking to groom the next generation of shuttlers by opening his own badminton academy in the near future.[3][8]
Personal life
editWong started dating his fellow national shuttler Vanessa Neo in 2007 when he joined the national squad full-time.[9] They got married in May 2015 and have two children together.[4]
Awards
editWong received the 2013, 2015 and 2017 Meritorious Award from the Singapore National Olympic Committee.[10]
Achievements
editCommonwealth Games
editMen's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland |  Kashyap Parupalli
|
14–21, 21–11, 19–21 |  Silver
|
Southeast Asian Games
editMen's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia |  Simon Santoso
|
17–21, 12–21 |  Bronze
|
BWF International Challenge/Series
editMen's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Iran Fajr International | Tommy Sugiarto
|
17–21, 21–18, 11–21 |  Runner-up
|
| 2011 | White Nights |  Hsu Jen-hao
|
18–21, 21–14, 12–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2012 | Vietnam International | Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo
|
17–21, 22–20, 21–10 |  Winner
|
| 2013 | Singapore International | Lin Yu-hsien
|
21–18, 21–14 | Winner
|
| 2015 | Bahrain International Challenge | Sameer Verma
|
14–21, 10–21 | Runner-up
|
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Maldives International |  Ashton Chen
|
 Jürgen Koch Peter Zauner
|
21–19, 21–17 | Winner
|
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
References
edit- ^ "Derek Wong". Singapore National Olympic Council. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Derek's Story". deloitte.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Derek Wong quits badminton career for Deloitte job". The New Paper. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ a b c "Shuttler Derek Wong at a career crossroads". The New Paper. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Team Singapore's flagbearer hopes possible Olympics finale is his best effort". Today. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games: Shuttler Derek Wong lands silver in men's singles". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "Men's Singles". Rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- ^ "Derek Wong call it quits". badmintonplanet.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "The love story of Derek Wong and Vanessa Neo". badmintonplanet.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "Singapore Sports Awards". Singapore National Olympic Council. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
External links
edit- Zi Liang Derek Wong at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com
- Zi Liang Derek Wong at BWFBadminton.com
- Zi Liang Derek Wong at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived) (2010)
- Derek Wong at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived) (2014)
- Derek Wong at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games (archived)
- Derek Wong at Olympics.com
- Derek Wong at Olympedia
- Derek Wong at the Singapore National Olympic Council
