Ex-All-England doubles champ fought 5-month battle with cancer by Dan Guen Chin 04:45 AM Aug 16, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian badminton legend Punch Gunalan died yesterday from liver cancer. He was 68. Gunalan will always be remembered for his exploits on the court, his winning the All-England men's doubles title and a long-standing rivalry with Rudy Hartono of Indonesia. As national team coach, he led Malaysia to the 1976 Thomas Cup final, where they lost to Indonesia, and to victory in the 1992 final. In 2006, as a deputy president in the Badminton World Federation (BWF), he was responsible for the introduction of the present 21-point format to make the sport more exciting for television. He eventually resigned in 2008 after a power struggle. As Steven Yeo, the former Secretary-General of the Singapore Badminton Association and world body council member, recalled: "Punch was very passionate about his sport, and was very driven towards keeping it relevant and fresh." Gunalan died at Subang Jaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur at about 6am. His funeral will be held today. Many of his acquaintances did not know he had been battling liver cancer. James Selvaraj, the Badminton Association of Malaysia's high performance director and a family friend who had visited him frequently in the past few months, told TODAY that Gunalan was diagnosed with cancer in March and had been in and out of hospital for treatment. "I last saw him at the hospital 10 days ago when I came back from the London Olympics," said Selvaraj, who was a member of that 1976 Thomas Cup squad. "He was very weak then. His condition deteriorated very fast, especially in the last two months." Tributes to Gunalan came pouring in yesterday. Hartono, a seven-time All-England men's singles champion, was saddened by the news. "We were good friends," the oil businessman told TODAY in a telephone interview from Jakarta. "Of course, we had our differences at the BWF annual general meeting in Jakarta in 2008, where I did not support him. But we remained friends and he visited me in Jakarta last year and offered me advice on the documentary I want to make on my badminton career. "I never knew he was so ill. I am sad that I am not able to go to his funeral in Kuala Lumpur. My condolences to his wife and family." The tributes flowed in Malaysia yesterday, with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin saying that Gunalan will never be forgotten. "Heroes never die; they become legends," he was quoted as saying by the state news agency Bernama. Gunalan leaves behind his wife and a son, who is a doctor.
