Family's glory days of badminton

RECENTLY at a funeral wake, I was introduced in the Teochew dialect to the widow as, "Ngoh Tee kai soong", meaning "Ngoh Tee's grandchild".

Surprised by this old-fashioned introduction that linked me to Ah Kong or grandpa Ng Ngoh Tee, I fondly recalled a bygone era when badminton was the family's pride and passion.

I know that Ah Kong was the Johor badminton champion in the 1920s and 1930s and trained players in his Companion Badminton Party, but it did not occur to me that grandma was also a badminton player.

I always pictured grandma holding a ladle, dishing out food from a large wok, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw old photos of her holding a badminton racquet instead.

Seeing her wielding a racquet instead of a ladle certainly gave me a fresh view of grandma. It gave me a sense of pride that grandma was a pioneer sportswoman. In those days, most women would only be involved with mundane housekeeping tasks and their families.

I tried to find out more but, even if nobody could confirm it, the hopeless romantic in me wanted to believe that Ah Kong and grandma met on the badminton court and it was a "love-set" for them. A picture certainly tells a thousand words and I saw how they were both so in love with the game and each other.

It's interesting to look back and see that their common passion for the game not only garnered them the title as mixed doubles champions but also influenced the sports careers of their 11 children.

Ah Kong was the instructor of the great Wong Peng Soon, helping him to master the most difficult stroke in the game -- the backhand. Wong became the first Asian to win the All-England title in 1950 and continued with subsequent victories in 1951, 1952 and 1955.

Ah Kong's knowledge of badminton was passed down from one generation to the next as the Ng siblings trained together as sparring partners, refining their magnificent artistry in wristwork, cultivating clever court craft and developing a winner's mentality as a great badminton family in the south.

Almost every night, regulars would join them at the court adjacent to grandfather's house, a double-storey bungalow at No. 154 Jalan Ngee Heng, for training. Here Ah Kong and his older sons would help young players hone their strokes and skills to improve their game.

I used to watch them from the benches that lined the court and observed how playing badminton is serious business, because champions are not born -- they are made.

Badminton is probably in our blood because it was uncanny how almost every 10 years a champion was born in the family -- Roland Ng (1931), Billy Ng (1940) and Sylvia Ng (1949).

Among other achievements, Uncle Roland was Johor champion from 1963 to 1973, national veterans singles champion in 1971 and double gold medalist in the first World Invitation Badminton Veterans Tournament in 1983. Uncle Billy was Malaysian Open men's singles champion in 1964 and is best remembered as a member of the 1967 victorious Thomas Cup team.

Like her brothers, Aunt Sylvia's badminton career began at home and she went on to conquer state and national titles as well as medals in the Southeast Asia Games and Asian Games.

On Aug 12, 1978, Aunt Sylvia made history by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Commonwealth Games singles gold in Edmonton, Canada. In her illustrious career, Aunt Sylvia was national champion six times until 1980 when she retired from competitive sports.

For her outstanding achievements, she was honoured as Sportswoman of the Year in 1975 and 1978. Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Billy were inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Hall of Fame in 2004 and 2008, respectively. These proud achievements certainly came with a cost that involved dedication, discipline and much sacrifice.

Their training was not only on the court but also in workouts on the exercise rowboat, skipping and running at the Istana Gardens.

After exercise, they would be dripping with sweat and I will never forget my terror and disgust when they chased me, threatening me with wet hugs!

I remember going to the gardens with Ah Kong and Aunt Sylvia as he coached her in preparation for tournaments and how my short legs and little lungs failed to keep up with my aunt's rigorous runs up and down the hillock.

In the evenings, before training started on the court, our uncles and aunts would play "catching" with us or masuk belon, a thrilling team game accompanied by much screaming. Then, using kiddy racquets with reduced shaft lengths that Ah Kong had modified to match shorter heights, we exchanged strokes with them.

Sometimes, Ah Kong would partner one of the children to play doubles and make us run to every corner of the court with his tricky strokes. You could say that he could beat us even with one hand tied behind!

Grandma would cook nutritious meals, always with soup in the Cantonese tradition and often bolster our health with evil-smelling herbal brews.

Nurtured by such a supportive environment, her children also excelled in other sports like boxing, rugby, football, basketball and athletics.

With her own experience in competitive badminton, I'm sure grandma knew all about the right attitude and what went into the making of champions as her children kept the Jalur Gemilang flying.