Heah Hock Aun

Heah Hock Aun
连福安
Personal information
Full nameJohnny Heah Hock Aun
CountryMalaysia
Born(1932-01-15)15 January 1932
Penang, British Malaya
Died7 May 2014(2014-05-07) (aged 82)
EventMen's singles & Men's doubles
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing Malaya
Thomas Cup
Silver medal – second place 1958 Singapore Men's team

Heah Hock Aun, (Chinese: 連福安; 15 January 1932 – 7 May 2014) was a former Malayan (Malaysian) badminton player, known for his accuracy and touch, who excelled internationally during the 1950s.

Early life

Heah was born on 15 January 1932, in Penang, British Malaya. He was the son of Heah Joo Seang, a well-known rubber magnate, philanthropist and politician in Malaya.[1]

Career

Known as Johnny Heah while playing in Europe, he won men's singles at the Scottish Open in 1952, and was runner-up in men's singles to the celebrated Eddy Choong at the prestigious All-England Championships in 1953.[2] His most notable badminton achievement was winning men's doubles at the 1957 All-England's with American Joe Alston, beating Eddy Choong and his brother David.[3] Heah represented Malaya in the 1958 Thomas Cup (world team championship) Challenge Round, splitting his two doubles matches in Malaya's loss of the cup to Indonesia.[4]

Personal life

Heah married Amy Choong, cousin of the famous Malayan badminton players, David E. L. Choong and Eddy Choong, in 1955.[5]

Achievements

International tournaments

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1952 Scottish Open Malaysia Eddy Choong 15–11, 15–8 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1952 Irish Open Malaysia Eddy Choong 7–15, 11–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1953 All England Open Malaysia Eddy Choong 4–15, 4–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1952 Irish Open Republic of Ireland Jim FitzGibbon Malaysia David Choong
Malaysia Eddy Choong 		11–15, 5–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1957 Singapore Open Malaysia Lim Say Hup Colony of Singapore Ismail Marjan
Colony of Singapore Ong Poh Lim 		10–15, 15–4, 15–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1957 All England Open United States Joe Alston Malaysia David Choong
Malaysia Eddy Choong 		15–10, 16–17, 15–5 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1958 Malaysia Open Malaysia Lim Say Hup Thailand Charoen Wattanasin
Thailand Kamal Sudthivanich 		11–15, 11–15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1958 Singapore Open Malaysia Lim Say Hup Malaysia Lim Say Wan
Colony of Singapore Ong Poh Lim 		15–9, 15–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1952 Scottish Open England Joy Saunders England Tony Jordan
England Elisabeth O'Beirne 		15–10, 12–15, 15–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1958 Malaysia Open Malaysia Amy Heah Malaysia Lim Say Hup
Malaysia Tan Gaik Bee 		15–12, 4–15, 14–18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1958 Singapore Open Malaysia Amy Heah Malaysia Lim Say Hup
Colony of Singapore Jessie Ong 		15–8, 10–15, 15–17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

References

  1. ^ "Amy Heah Admitted to Colony Bar". The Straits Times. 31 May 1958.
  2. ^ Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1967) 166, 262.
  3. ^ Scheele, 168.
  4. ^ Scheele, 78.
  5. ^ "Penang Badminton Couple Wed". The Straits Times. 18 July 1955.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.