Punch Gunalan

Punch Gunalan was one of the early greats of Malaysian badminton. In the early 60s he won the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles events at the Negeri Sembilan Badminton Championship (1961-63). In 1970 he was on the winning men’s doubles team with Ng Boon Bee at the Commonwealth Games, winning the first ever gold medal for Malaysia in that competition. That year Gunalan won the men’s singles at the Asian Games in Bangkok, and he and Ng won the doubles as well. He and Ng later won the All-England Championship in doubles in 1971. At the 1974 Commonwealth Games Gunalan won the men’s singles and won a bronze medal in doubles. He was named Malaysian Sportsman of the Year in both 1969 and 1974.

After ending his playing career, Gunalan coached and led the national squad to glory at the 1992 Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He was a member of the Asian Badminton Confederation (ABC) serving as its Honorary Secretary-General, and was the President of the International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 2004-08. He also held the post of Honorary Secretary in the Badminton Association of Malaysia from 1985-97, and his final post in the Malaysian badminton body was as its vice-president in 2005.