Lee Kin Tat

Dr. Lee Kin Tat (born 1939) is a former Malaysian-born Singaporean badminton player who won numerous international singles titles from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, including the open championships of Belgium, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Singapore.[1] He was considered by many as Singapore's badminton star of the 1960s. Lee was known to be able to execute a smash from any corner of the court.

Lee Kin Tat
Personal information
Country Singapore
Born1939 (age 81–82)
Perak, Malaya (now Malaysia)
ResidenceSingapore City, Singapore
HandednessRight
EventMen's Singles / Doubles
In this Chinese name, the family name is Lee.

Early life

Lee, the oldest of five children was born in Perak to rubber magnate Lee In Tong. He later moved to Penang, then Singapore, where he studied at St Joseph's Institution. When Lee was 19 (as the school's boy champion), he served notice of his talent by upsetting top Singapore players Omar Ibrahim and V.S.S. Nathan. He later moved to London to study at Imperial College and played in Britain and Europe.[2]

Badminton career

Lee won two titles at the 1959 French Open. In the season of 1960, he finished second at the German Open. In 1963 and 1967, he again won the French Open. In 1964, Lee reached the semifinal of the prestigious All-England Championships by ending Erland Kops' run of four straight titles in the quarterfinal.[3] Although Lee lost in the semi-finals to eventual champion Knud Aage Nielsen of Denmark, he, however had a great year by winning 12 titles from the autumn of 1963 to April 1964. Lee also reached the All-England semifinal in 1967, this time losing to Kops. In 1966 and 1967, he won the Scottish Open. In 1969, he won two tournament victories in the Belgian International. Largely because most of his prime badminton years were spent in Europe, he did not play in Thomas Cup (men's international team) competition for either Malaysia or Singapore. Lee retired from competitive badminton in 1973 and later served as president of the SBA[4] and secretary-general of the Asian Badminton Confederation.[5]

Achievements
Year Tournament Discipline Result Name
1959 French Open Men's singles Winner Lee Kin Tat
1959 French Open Men's doubles Winner Lee Kin Tat / Jimmy Lim
1960 German Open Men's singles Runner-up Lee Kin Tat
1961 German Open Men's singles Runner-up Lee Kin Tat
1963 French Open Men's singles Winner Lee Kin Tat
1965 German Open Men's singles Runner-up Lee Kin Tat
1966 Scottish Open Men's singles Winner Lee Kin Tat
1966 Irish Open Men's singles Winner Lee Kin Tat
1967 Scottish Open Men's singles Winner Lee Kin Tat
1967 French Open Men's singles Winner Lee Kin Tat
1968 Irish Open Men's singles Winner Lee Kin Tat
1969 Belgian International Men's singles Winner Lee Kin Tat
1969 Belgian International Men's doubles Winner Lee Kin Tat / Roy Díaz González

Trivia
  • He is a grandfather of five.
  • He runs his own financial business.
  • He never had formal coaching but got tips from the late Ong Poh Lim.
  • He took 8 years to complete his doctorate (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Physics) due to his commitment to excel in badminton.

References
  1. Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1971 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1971) 123, 174, 209, 273, 281.
  2. "Glory days of local shuttlers". The Straits Times. 16 August 2015.
  3. Pat Davis, The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1983) 91.
  4. "Lee Kin Tat re-elected". The Straits Times. 10 July 1979.
  5. "HK to stage world shuttle exhibition". Singapore Monitor. 8 December 1982.


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