Badminton player
Derek Wong (born Wong Zi Liang, traditional Chinese: 黃梓良, 13 January 1989) is a retired Singaporean badminton player. Wong is a two-time Olympian, who took part at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, where he was flag bearer in the latter's Parade of Nations.
Early life.
Wong was born on 13 January 1989, in Singapore, to parents Wong Shoon Keat and Irene Lee. He grew up in a badminton-loving family with three other brothers (Shawn, Jamie and Jason). Both his parents are former national champions and they own a badminton shop at the old Singapore Badminton Hall. Wong started playing badminton, at age 5 when his father took him to the hall to play badminton for the first time. Since then, he would do his school homework at the shop before playing badminton with some friendly uncles in the hall till his parents closed the shop for the day.
Wong turned professional in 2008 after consulting with his parents and peers, right after his O-levels.
Career.
2011 World Championships.
Wong shocked Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat, a former Olympic champion in the second round of the World Championships. He defeated the Indonesian star 21–17, 21–14 to earn a place in the third round against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark.
2011 Southeast Asian Games.
Wong upset Vietnam's Nguyễn Tiến Minh, then ranked in the world's top 10, at the quarterfinals of the Sea Games. He also came agonisingly close to upsetting the eventual gold medalist, Simon Santoso, in the next round. He led in the early stages of the semifinal match before succumbing to the Indonesian in straight sets.
2012 London Olympics.
Wong's Olympic debut ended after a 21–17, 21–14 loss to Jan Ø. Jørgensen in his final Group I match at London's Wembley Arena on 31 July to finish second in the three-man group. "Of course, I wanted to play more games instead of just two. But being in my first Olympics has been a huge experience, and one that I will use for my career," Wong said afterwards. He had earlier beaten Israel's Misha Zilberman 21–9, 21–15 on 29 July.
2014 Commonwealth Games.
Wong advanced to the men's singles final but lost to Parupalli Kashyap of India 14–21, 21–11, 21–19, winning a silver medal.
2016 Rio Olympics.
Wong qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics and was the Singaporean flag bearer. During group play, he finished in second place in his group and did not advance.
Retirement.
After the 2016 Olympics, Wong resigned from the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), thus confirming his retirement from professional badminton. He later joined consulting firm Deloitte on 26 September 2016, to start his post-badminton career. Wong is also looking to groom the next generation of shuttlers by opening his own badminton academy in the near future.
Personal life.
Wong started dating his fellow national shuttler Vanessa Neo in 2007 when he joined the national squad full-time. They got married in May 2015 and have two children together.
Awards.
Wong received the 2013, 2015 and 2017 Meritorious Award from the Singapore National Olympic Committee.
Achievements.
Commonwealth Games.
"Men's singles"
Southeast Asian Games.
"Men's singles"
BWF International Challenge/Series.
"Men's singles"
"Men's doubles"
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References.
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