Biography of Derek Wong Zi Liang – Singapore’s Badminton Star

dd yy October 11, 2024 0

Derek Wong Zi Liang (born January 13, 1989), previously mistranslated as Wan Zi Liang, is a Singaporean male badminton player who decided to retire after the 2016 Olympics. His father, Huang Xunjie, is a renowned figure in Singapore’s badminton history, having won the first-ever men’s singles gold medal for Singapore at the 1983 Southeast Asian Games. Zi Liang started playing badminton at the age of five, formally trained at seven, and was selected for the national team as a professional player at the age of sixteen.
In 2011, Zi Liang participated in the World Badminton Championships in men’s singles, defeating Polish player Przemysław Wacha and Indonesian Taufik Hidayat to reach the top 16; he was eventually eliminated by Denmark’s Hans-Christian Vieringhus. In 2012, he represented Singapore in the men’s singles at the London Olympic Games, defeating Israel’s Misha Zilberman 2-0 in the group stage and losing 0-2 to Denmark’s Jan O. Jørgensen, ending with a record of one win and one loss. In August 2013, Zi Liang competed in the World Badminton Championships held in Guangzhou, China, in the men’s singles category, defeating 10th seed Indonesian player Sony Dwi Kuncoro 2-0 (24-22, 21-16) in the first round, but was eliminated by Malaysia’s Liu Guolun 0-2 (13-21, 13-21) in the second round.

In September 2016, after his second Olympic Games, Zi Liang decided to retire from his 20-year badminton career. He stated through a press release from the Singapore Badminton Association: ‘I have been playing badminton for 20 years, and I feel it is time to step aside and give the younger generation a chance to lead Singapore badminton to new heights.’ He has found a job in a company and hopes to experience working life, but he will not completely leave badminton behind and will continue to teach and coach badminton enthusiasts. Achievements include:
– 2015 Southeast Asian Games Men’s Team Badminton Bronze Medal
– 2014 Commonwealth Games Men’s Singles Badminton Silver Medal
– 2014 Commonwealth Games Mixed Team Badminton Bronze Medal
– 2013 Singapore International Series Men’s Singles Champion
– 2012 Vietnam International Challenge Men’s Singles Champion
– 2012 Korea Badminton Golden Grand Prix Men’s Singles Semi-finalist
– 2011 Russia Badminton Grand Prix Men’s Singles Semi-finalist
– 2010 US Badminton Golden Grand Prix Men’s Singles Semi-finalist
– Flame N55 II