Hi again. Just want to get some information about the early days of Ng Boon Bee and Tan Yee Khan. Any forum member can help? They were from the St Michael's Institution in Ipoh. I read that they started their partnership way back in 1957. How did they start their partnership? Unlike Cheah Soon Kit, who seemed to change partners, these two had been together until Tan Yee Khan had to retire because of recurring back problems. I used to watch this pair play against Teh Kew San and Lim Say Hup in Penang and most of the matches went into three sets. It never amazes me to find that Yee Khan, being the taller of the two, was always at the net after service and Boon Bee will be at the back. Boon Bee could jump pretty high and walloped his smashes from the back. Yee Khan also packed quite a wallop because when he smashed I used to see the feathers come off the head of the shuttlecock and the shuttle became unusable! Of course Yee Khan could play singles but he usually ran out of steam during the second set..too much smashing.
I did watch Boon Bee/Yee Khan play many times, and they were a very fiery pair. But in my opinion I think the much older Lim Say Hup was a much better doubles player, who was considered the best doubles player of his time. But Lim was a lazy player, got himself far too fat, but could still beat Boon Bee/Yee Khan even when he was over the hill on a good day. Lim used to teach me how to play doubles in the 1960s.
Tan Yee Khan n Ng Boon Bee Hi taneepak, Wow.....u got Lim to teach u playing doubles? That is a gift, man. What I had read before, Tan Yee Khan was a very powerful player, whose smashes went through the net during a badminton tournament in India, that the umpire awarded a point to him. He had very powerful arm, wrist and finger power. Read that he used to squeezed newspapers into ball shape to make his fingers powerful. Lee
Yes, Yee Khan was a very powerful smasher but he was also not as cool as Boon Bee. Yee Khan was then known as the best doubles server at that time when the Indonesians were starting to use the backhand serve. But against the then top Indonesian pair Yee Khan's serve was killed off almost everytime. Not so with Boon Bee. Boon Bee had to jump smash because he was rather short. His smashes were also very powerful but not as steep and thunderous as Yee Khan's. Say Hup was actually working in the same company with me. I can tell you he never did train, never even bother to turn up often to have a knock with us. He would get with Kew San a day or two before a major tournament, and lo and behold they sometimes beat the best Indonesians, at a time Say Hup was actually retired, quite fat, and enjoying life. He left to join the Asian Development Bank in Manila, married a rich Philippino woman and probably settled down there.
erm...tan yee khan open a hotel in pulau pangkor...name:sea view...looks like he is so enjoy his life...perform some magic for guest...and go fishing here and there
Probably because I don't understand the language and also because the video is ancient and dark, everyone looks like, um, everyone But one of the players hits a cannonball smash at 0:27 Is that Tan Yee Khan?
That was Yee Khan. BTW, Yee Khan also played singles in one of his AE outings and beat Denmark's Earland Kops, only to be beaten later by a lesser known player. Upon retirement and a stint as coach to Malaysia's BAM he took up golf and was quite good at that too. It was during his golfing days in Ipoh that he coached my best friend on how to play competitive golf. They nearly came to blows because Yee Khan was a real task master who insisted on only his way or else. They "fought" on the badminton court in singles-Yee Khan playing left hand with his right hand holding a stool vs my friend playing right hand, and Yee Khan won. According to my friend Yee Khan plays golf like no others, because he played golf like the way he played badminton. It was always wrist, wrist, wrist. My friend disagreed and got another coach.
He, he, sounds like Yee Khan allright. When he was BAM chief coach, he also came to blows with Misbun, who then refused to train under BAM .......
Well for his contribution to badminton Boon was made a datuk recently, albeit a bit late - by The Negri Sembilan Yang Di Pertua. Why wasn't he given the datukship by the Perak Sultan? Lee Chong Wei and Tan Yee Khan were also made datuks. Eddy Choong was made a datuk much earlier. I wonder who gave Eddy his datukship and when? Looks like badminton players are finally being recognized for their contribution to the sport.
