Yee Khan plans another Pangkor getaway for former stars

TheStar
PETALING JAYA: Former Malaysian doubles ace Tan Yee Khan is planning another grand function to get former national badminton players together at the Sea View Resort in Pangkor Island on July 15 and 16.

The member of the 1967 Thomas Cup-winning team and two-time All-England champion is also hoping that the current national players will also not miss out on the opportunity to meet the former greats.

Yee Khan said yesterday that he had got in touch with Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary Gangga Rao and two former doubles players, Yap Kim Hock and Cheah Soon Kit, who are now coaches in the national team, to bring the national players to the function.

“I am organising it after the Malaysian Open and it will be a very good opportunity for them to hear and learn from our experiences, especially for those who will be playing in the World Championships in August,” said Yee Khan, who was also the national coach in the early eighties.

It will be the third time former national players will get together after 2000 and 2001.

About 40 players from past national teams, including Tan Aik Huang, Tan Aik Mong, James Selvaraj, Razif Sidek and former Asian and Commonwealth Games women's singles gold medallist Sylvia Ng, have expressed their interest to be in Pangkor.

The gathering will also bring together the players from the Thomas Cup winning sides of 1967 and 1992.

Yee Khan added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, had in a letter, also expressed his interest to grace the function.

“I have invited our PM to grace the function. His message was that he would like to be there to meet us and we are all looking forward to him coming to Pangkor,” he said.

Singapore's Tan Chong Tee will be the oldest former player invited for the gathering. The 87-year-old Chong Tee has the rare distinction of beating Malaysian legend Wong Peng Soon in 1940.

Former BAM presidents Tan Sri Khir Johari and Tan Sri Elyas Omar are also expected to attend the function.