Kwek to compete in both singles and doubles at World Senior meet
AFTER almost three decades of absence from the international scene, former national shuttler Kwek Chiew Peng will be attempting a successful return to competitive competition at the international veteran level.
The 57-year-old Kwek will be featuring in both singles and doubles of the men’s 55-59 age-group at the fifth World Senior Badminton Championships at the Richmond Olympic Oval in Richmond, Canada from Aug 21-27.
The former Thomas Cupper, who was part of the national training camp between 1975 and 1982, is hopeful of making an impact at the upcoming outing.
“I left from the national team in 1982 but I did not hang up my racquet completely. I am still in touch with the game because I continued to play regularly. I still find a lot of joy pursuing badminton as a favourite past time. It has also a chance for me to socialise and foster closer friendship with others sharing the similar interest. However, I have only been competing in the local veteran age-group tournaments,” said Kwek.
Five years ago, Kwek did not go beyond the quarter-finals in his campaign at the World Chinese Badminton Championships in Malaysia.
In his debut appearance at the world senior meet, the more prepared Kwek is aiming to be among the medal contenders by making it into the last four of the singles as well as the doubles.
Kwek will be forming a scratch partnership with another avid veteran shuttler Chan Wan Seong to vie for honours in the doubles at the upcoming meet.
However, Kwek admitted he is going into the unknown territory without knowing the exact strength of the entries in the singles contest and is expecting a tough ride to achieve his target of booking a place in the semi-finals.
“I am really excited about making the trip and competing against my peers at a high level again. I am ready to take on the challenges. It will be the first tournament pairing up with Chan. We are confident that we can complement each other and produce a decent attacking game to trouble our opponents. As we gear up for the tournament, we tried to forge a better understanding and improve on our combination when we come together once a week on Sundays over the past two months,” he said.
During his seven-year stint with the national squad, Kwek paired up with Lim Cheng Hoe to emerge as the national men’s doubles champions in 1976 and earned his place the Malaysia’s Thomas Cup line-up finishing as the runners-up after they went down 0-9 to Indonesia at Bangkok in the 1976 campaign.
“I was not fielded because I was inexperienced compared to the more notable names like Phua Ah Hua, James Selvaraj, Moo Foot Lian, Dominic Soong and Cheah Hong Chong to carry the challenge in the doubles. It was a privilege to be part of the team,” said Kwek, who has also represented the country at the SEA Games and Asian Games.
Besides settling for second in the men’s doubles at the Selangor Open, Kwek was the Negri Sembilan Closed men’s singles champion for an impressive seven consecutive years from 1975 to 1981.
“Then, I had the advantage because I was training at a higher intensity with the national team. It was no surprise that I was stronger and dominated the Negri Sembilan Closed during the period, ” he said.
Kwek, who hails from Muar, shifted to Port Dickson after he secured a career with Shell based in Port Dickson because of his exploits in badminton.
He was with the refinery for 20 years followed by another 15-year stint in marketing before he called it a day two years ago.
Following his retirement, Kwek took up the opportunity to devote his full attention into the fastest racquet sport again when setting up the Total Badminton Academy in Port Dickson.
Kwek said his has a sincere intention to contribute back to badminton and sharing his experiences with the youngsters teaching them the basic skills.
“I do not have my own facilities and centre. I am running the training programmes at a public hall. I conduct the sessions on my own and do not engage trainers because I believe in giving the trainees my personal attention. I am also keeping fit sparring with the trainees everyday. I have also incorporated strength training three times a week at home to prepare for the world senior championships,” he added.
Currently, Kwek has 100 trainees aged between seven and 18 years and five promising talents from the Under-12 age-group have moved on to join the Negri Sembilan state training programme after only one-year under his care.
“I am also fortunate because my wife (Amy Chong Mee Laing) for 27 years also shares the similar passion for badminton,” said Kwek, who is a father of two children aged 21 and 25.
FACT FILE
Name: Kwek Chiew Peng
Date of Birth: Dec 3, 1953
Hometown: Muar, Johor
Occupation: Coach
Hobby: Badminton
Favourite Sports Personality: Rudy Hartono (Ina)
Education:
- Chung Hwa 1 primary school
- Muar High School
Achievements:
1975-1982: National shuttler
1975-1981: Negri Sembilan men’s singles champion
1976-1979: Thomas Cupper
1976: National men’s doubles champion (with Lim Cheng Hoe)
1978: Asia Games
1979: SEA Games
Coaching Qualification:
BAM Level One
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