Cheah Soon Kit

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

Cheah Soon Kit
谢勋寁
Cheah Soon Kit; 谢勋寁
Personal information
Country	Malaysia
Born	9 January 1968 (age 56); 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
World Championships
World Cup
Thomas Cup
Commonwealth Games
Asian Games
Asian Championships
Asian Cup
Southeast Asian Games

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]

Career[edit]

Known for his amazing jumping smashes, 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[edit]

Soon Kit was 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[edit]

Olympic Games[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Honours of Malaysia[edit]

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[edit]

^ Talkah, Oleh Helmi (10 December 2018). "Kontrak Soon Kit, 3 jurulatih tak disambung". BH Online (in Malay). Retrieved 31 March 2020.
^ "Switch that turned on the power". The Star. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
^ "Badminton: Switch that turned on the power | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^ "The long, memorable road to victory | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^ "Badminton: Soon Kit's the man for BAM to revive doubles fortunes | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^ "Badminton: Soon Kit ready to restore Malaysian badminton to former glory | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^ "Badminton: Kejian the latest to join exodus of coaches from BAM | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
^ "Seramai 335 terima darjah kebesaran sempena Hari Wilayah". Berita Harian (in Malay). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
^ "Rashid, Soon Kit dapat gelaran Datuk". Berita Harian (in Malay). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

External links[edit]

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

[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.

[ho-8] "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". 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.

[10] "Rashid, Soon Kit dapat gelaran Datuk". Berita Harian (in Malay). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

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v t e Malaysia medal winners at the Olympic Games
Silver	Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock 1996 Badminton men's doubles Lee Chong Wei 2008 Badminton men's singles 2012 Badminton men's singles 2016 Badminton men's singles Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong 2016 Badminton men's doubles Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying 2016 Badminton mixed's doubles Cheong Jun Hoong/Pandelela Rinong 2016 Diving women's sychronised 10 metre platform Azizulhasni Awang 2020 Cycling men's keirin
Bronze	Razif Sidek/Jalani Sidek 1992 Badminton men's doubles Rashid Sidek 1996 Badminton men's singles Pandelela Rinong 2012 Diving women's 10 metre platform Azizulhasni Awang 2016 Cycling men's keirin Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik 2020 Badminton men's doubles