Chan (left) and Chua posing with their gold medals after the event.
IN a commendable display of consistency, seasoned shuttler Chan Wan Seong has again brought home a gold medal from the 28th World Chinese Badminton Federation (WCBF) Championships 2024.
He partnered compatriot Chua Koh Keong in the Men’s Doubles 70-74 age group and overpowered their opponents in the tournament which was held in Handan, Hebei in China.
This is Chan’s third medal from three consecutive tournaments.
He had previously won the silver medal in Men’s Singles 70-74 age group at the Ceylon Masters International Badminton Championships.
This was followed by a gold medal in the Men’s Singles 70-74 age group in the Four Seasons International Badminton Championships.
The WCBF tournament is a global event open to players of all nationalities.
This year’s edition attracted more than 3,000 participants from 12 countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, USA, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with the highest number of players from host country, China.
“I am very happy because this is the first Men’s Doubles gold medal that I have won in the WCBF tournament,” Chan told StarMetro.
“I had won the gold medal in Men’s Singles 60-64 age group in 2015, silver medal in Men’s Singles 50-54 age group in 2006, and six bronze medals in men’s singles in previous years,” he said.
“What is unbelievable is that I had partnered Chua only once before in the 2015 BWF World Senior Championships in Sweden. We lost that in the second round of the Men’s Doubles 60-64 category.
“For the China tournament, we only had one practice session,” said Chan.
After defeating two pairs in group matches to win in their group, the Malaysians qualified for the knock-out round of 16.
From the 41 pairs in the group stage, Chan and Chua were the only Malaysian and non-China pair out of the 14 who advanced to the elimination stage.
“We just focused on each match and after progressing to our quarter-final match, we managed to squeeze through with 31-29.
“In the semi-finals and final, we defeated the remaining two China pairs 31-24 and 31-21 respectively.
“Chua, who is a doubles specialist, worked well with me despite our lack of practice together,” Chan said.
“The magnitude of this gold medal achievement only sank in much later after the tournament ended.
“We are now the World Chinese Badminton Men’s Doubles champions in the 70-74 age category,” he noted jubilantly.
Chan also participated in the Men’s Singles 70-74 age group category but lost 26-31 to a Hong Kong shuttler.
Other notable Malaysian gold medal winners in the age categories above 55 years were former Thomas Cupper Ong Ewe Hock with James Goh Cheng Huan (Men’s Doubles 55-59 age group), Ong Then Lin and Singaporean Victor Sim (Men’s Doubles 65-69 age group), and Bruni Garip of Sarawak (Men’s Singles 70-74 age group).
