Ong Poh Lim (; 18 November 1923 – 17 April 2003) was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who had won numerous national and international titles from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Known for his quickness and his aggressive, unorthodox playing style, Ong won many singles and doubles titles, including the All-England, Danish, French, Malayan, Singapore and Thomas Cup championships in the 1940s and 1950s. He also invented the backhand flick serve known as the “crocodile serve”, a tactic that had been routinely used in the modern game. Ong was a keen rival to badminton legend Wong Peng Soon.
Early life Ong was born on 18 November 1923, in Kuching, Sarawak. He was the son of Mr Ong and Mrs Ong Kheng Hong.Ho Ah Chon, Badminton 1952-1964 (The Author, Kuching, Sarawak, 1992) 1 - 5.
Ong, then a student of St. Thomas's School, Kuching, took a serious interest in badminton only after the visit of two Singapore badminton champions Leow Kim Fatt and Yap Chin Tee to Kuching in 1937. In June 1947, he went to Singapore to work as well as looking for opportunity to improve his attacking game. He was greatly assisted by Yap, a former high level player in Singapore.
Badminton career Ong excelled in badminton during his school days and held the Sarawak singles and doubles titles from 1938 to 1941. He moved to Singapore after World War II, where he played for Devonshire and Marigold Badminton Party, both well-established rivals to Mayflower Badminton Party, which produced Wong Peng Soon and a number of other prominent badminton players of that era.
Ong won the Singapore Open men's singles title four times from 1952 to 1955 and the men's doubles title nine times with seven in consecutive years from 1950 to 1956 with Ismail Marjan. He clinched nine mixed doubles titles with Alice Pennefather in 1950, with Mary Sim in 1951, with Ong Siew Yong from 1952 to 1954, with Mary Quintal in 1956, with Jessie Ong from 1960 to 1961 and with Lim Choo Eng in 1963. Ong also created history by capturing the Singapore Open singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles over three consecutive years, from 1952 to 1954. He was the most successful player in the competition's history, with a total of 22 combined titles.
Ong held the Malaysia Open men's singles title two times in 1954 and 1956, the men's doubles title four times in 1950, 1953, 1956 with Ismail Marjan and in 1955 with Ooi Teik Hock.Leo Suryadinata ed., Southeast Asian Personalities Of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary (ISEAS, Singapore, 2012) 841 - 843. He also won the mixed doubles title with Cecilia Samuel in 1952.
Ong also won many international titles in his tour of Europe and US. He won both the Irish Open men's singles and men's doubles titles in 1949 with Lim Kee Fong. He won the Denmark Open men's doubles titles in 1951 with Ismail Marjan. He also won the French Open men's singles and men's doubles titles in 1951, again with Ismail Marjan. Ong shared the All-England men's doubles title in 1954 with Ooi Teik Hock, having previously reached the finals of both singles and doubles at the All-England in 1951.Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1967) 166 - 168. As a pair, they also won the US Open men's doubles title in the same calendar year (1954).
Ong played on three consecutive world champion Malaya Thomas Cup teams of 1949, 1952 and 1955. He emerged victorious in all of his matches during these contests, contributing significantly to Malaya's success and earning the distinction of being the only Malayan player to achieve this feat.Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1967) 66 - 73. In the latter part of his career he represented Singapore in international competition.
After his retirement, Ong took on coaching roles in Malaysia (1976), Iran (1978) and the Philippines (1980). Ong was credited for having trained Lee Kin Tat, who reached the semi-finals of the All-England in 1964 and 1966; and the two-time All-England men's doubles champion of 1965 and 1966, Tan Yee Khan.
"Crocodile Serve" Ong's famous crocodile serve apparently came about by accident. He had a slight limp and he compensated this by "wiggling his behind, a little like Marilyn Monroe" (in his own words) before executing a quick back-hand flick serve to fool his opponents. And he did all these naturally. Because he was originally from Sarawak where the rivers were infested with crocodiles, a British journalist coined his peculiar serve after them.Peter H. L. Lim ed., Chronicle of Singapore, 1959-2009: Fifty Years of Headline News (Editions Didier Millet, 2009) 309.
Personal life Ong, remained a bachelor for his whole life and he lived alone at Sennett Close.
Besides badminton, Ong was also interested in antiques. He was a keen philatelist and amassed an extensive collection of rare and unusual stamps from all over the world, including those from Indonesia, Sarawak, Brunei and the Straits Settlements.
Death On 16 April 2003, SSC officials discovered Ong at his home, where he had suffered a bad fall and had been unattended for several days. He was taken to Changi General Hospital, where he died on 17 April. He was 79 years old. His funeral was attended by officials from the SSC and the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA). He was buried at Choa Chu Kang Christian Cemetery.
Honours and awards In 1953, Ong was voted as the 1952 Sportsman of the Year by the readers of Singapore Free Press.
In 1986, Ong was inducted into the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) Sports Museum Hall of Fame. In 1996, he received a Meritorious Service Award from the International Badminton Federation (IBF) for his significant contribution to the growth of world badminton.
Ong was also inducted into the World Badminton Hall of Fame in 1998 as well as the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s Hall of Fame in 2004.
Achievements Tournaments Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref1948 Singapore Open Wong Peng Soon 9–15, 11–15 Runner-up 1949 Irish Open Lim Kee Fong 15–9, 15–7 Winner 1951 All England Wong Peng Soon 18–15, 14–18, 7–15 Runner-up 1951 French Open Wong Peng Soon 15–9, 15–8 Winner 1951 Singapore Open Wong Peng Soon 13–18, 8–15 Runner-up 1952 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Walkover Winner 1953 Singapore Open Omar Ibrahim 15–2, 15–3 Winner 1954 Malaysia Open Ooi Teik Hock 9–15, 15–1, 15–7 Winner 1954 Singapore Open Wong Peng Soon 9–15, 15–10, 17–16 Winner 1955 Singapore Open Omar Ibrahim 15–8, 15–5 Winner 1956 Malaysia Open Eddy Yusuf 15–8, 15–12 Winner
Men's doubles Year TournamentPartner Opponent Score Result Ref1948 Singapore Open Tan Chong Tee Teoh Peng Hooi Wong Peng Soon 8–15, 15–17 Runner-up 1949 Irish Open Lim Kee Fong Frank Peard Noel Radford 15–4, 15–6 Winner 1949 Malaysia Open Lim Kee Fong Chan Kon Leong Yeoh Teck Chye 5–15, 8–15 Runner-up 1950 Malaysia Open Ismail Marjan Goh Chin Kim Abdulah Piruz 15–9, 15–3 Winner 1950 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Teoh Peng Hooi Wong Peng Soon 15–12, 15–9 Winner 1951 Hull Open Ismail Marjan Noel Radford Wong Peng Soon 18–16, 15–12 Winner 1951 Surrey Open Ismail Marjan Noel Radford Wong Peng Soon 15–2, 15–12 Winner 1951 All England Ismail Marjan David Choong Eddy Choong 15–9, 7–15, 10–15 Runner-up 1951 French Open Ismail Marjan Cheong Hock Leng Eddy Choong 15–7, 15–7 Winner 1951 Denmark Open Ismail Marjan Jørn Skaarup Preben Dabelsteen 15–9, 15–5 Winner 1951 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Cheong Hock Leng Loong Pan Yap 15–8, 15–10 Winner 1952 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Kon Kong Min Tan Chong Tee 15–11, 15–12 Winner 1953 Malaysia Open Ismail Marjan Abdullah Piruz Chan Kon Leong 12–15, 15–10, 15–10 Winner 1953 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Ng Heng Kwang Seah Hark Chim 15–2, 15–3 Winner 1954 All England Ooi Teik Hock David Choong Eddy Choong 18–16, 15–12 Winner 1954 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Teoh Peng Hooi Wong Peng Soon 15–6, 15–10 Winner 1954 US Open Ooi Teik Hock David Choong Eddy Choong 15–1, 15–4 Winner 1955 Malaysia Open Ooi Teik Hock Finn Kobberø Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen 15–7, 18–17 Winner 1955 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Robert Lim Lim Wei Loon 15–7, 15–7 Winner 1956 Malaysia Open Ismail Marjan Abdullah Piruz Mok Yat Wah 15–2, 15–6 Winner 1956 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Goh Tian Chye Tan Chin Guan 15–2, 15–8 Winner 1956 US Open Ooi Teik Hock Finn Kobberø Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen 15–9, 8–15, 7–15 Runner-up 1957 Singapore Open Ismail Marjan Johnny Heah Lim Say Hup 15–10, 4–15, 7–15 Runner-up 1958 Singapore Open Lim Say Wan Johnny Heah Lim Say Hup 9–15, 7–15 Runner-up 1959 Singapore Open Omar Yahya Johnny Kok Bob Lee 15–10, 15–10 Winner 1960 Singapore Open George Yap Bobby Chee Khoo Eng Huah 15–18, 15–11, 5–15 Runner-up 1961 Malaysia Open George Yap Ng Boon Bee Tan Yee Khan 15–18, 3–15 Runner-up 1961 Singapore Open Tan Yee Khan Robert Lim Lim Wei Loon 9–15, 15–11, 12–15 Runner-up 1962 Singapore Open Wee Choon Seng Ismail Ibrahim Omar Ibrahim 15–1, 15–7 Winner
Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref1948 Singapore Open Helen Heng Wong Peng Soon Waileen Wong 5–15, 8–15 Runner-up 1950 Singapore Open Alice Pennefather Lau Teng Siah Mak Fong Sim 15–11, 15–6 Winner 1951 Singapore Open Mary Sim Cheong Hock Leng Teo Tiang Seng 15–13, 15–5 Winner 1952 Malaysia Open Cecilia Samuel Abdullah Piruz Queenie Cheah 15–4, 1–2 retired Winner 1952 Singapore Open Ong Siew Yong Goh Tian Chye Alice Pennefather 18–17, 15–7 Winner 1953 Singapore Open Ong Siew Yong Goh Tian Chye Alice Pennefather 15–6, 15–0 Winner 1954 Singapore Open Ong Siew Yong Teoh Peng Hooi Lau Hui Huang 12–15, 15–7, 15–12 Winner 1955 Singapore Open Vivienne Puckridge Teoh Peng Hooi Lau Hui Huang 8–15, 15–7, 13–18 Runner-up 1956 Singapore Open Mary Quintal Teoh Peng Hooi Lau Hui Huang 18–16, 15–6 Winner 1959 Singapore Open Nancy Lim Lim Say Hup Jessie Ong 11–15, 14–18 Runner-up 1960 Singapore Open Jessie Ong Bobby Chee Tan Gaik Bee 15–11, 15–7 Winner 1961 Singapore Open Jessie Ong Bob Lee Nancy Ang 15–9, 15–11 Winner 1963 Singapore Open Lim Choo Eng Tan Boon Liat Nancy Sng 15–8, 15–6 Winner
Team Achievement
Year Tournament Discipline Result 1949 Thomas Cup Team Winner 1952 Thomas Cup (2) Team Winner 1955 Thomas Cup (3) Team Winner
References