00:00When Malaysia's badminton hero Tan Yikan hit the shuttle, it sounded like a verdict.
00:10Feathers would scatter, rallies ended in a single beat. His power rewired what doubles could be.
00:18Today, we remember him. Yikan died aged 86. For two years, he had been in assisted care in Ipuk.
00:29He and Ng Bun Bi were a near-perfect match. Yikan at the back, Bun Bi at the net. One struck, the other finished.
00:40Together, they won almost everywhere. The All England twice, Asian Games gold twice, and dozens more titles through the 1960s.
00:50They grew up a stone's throw apart in Ipuk. They went to the same school. They even worked the same day job.
00:59Those roots made their partnership more than tactics. It made it instinct.
01:04Their finest hour came with pain. Jakarta, 1967. Hostile crowds. Flashlights in players' faces.
01:13A doubles match stopped in chaos. Officials pulled the contest for safety. The team fled the stadium.
01:22Later decisions handed Malaysia the Thomas Cup. The win was sports history and national pride earned under pressure.
01:31Teammate Yu Cheng Ho called Yikan one of the greatest of his era.
01:36Cheng Ho remembers the hard laughs, the steady hand, and a rare meeting on court.
01:41At the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, he faced Yi Khan and Bun Bi and won gold with Tan Ai Kuang in the doubles final.
01:51Injuries cut short his run. He left top competition in 1970. Nine months later, he won the national amateur golf title and later turned pro.
02:02He coached, he demanded standards, and he shaped young champions.
02:08For more than 40 years, he ran the Seaview Hotel in Pancor. He fished, he cooked, he welcomed guests.
02:15A sporting giant who boiled curry and filleted fish with the same sure hands.
02:21In 2023, the king placed him at the center of a photo at Istana Nagara.
02:28A small, public thank you. A gentle, unforgettable moment of respect.
02:34Farewell, Tan Yi Khan. A thunderous player. A quiet giver. A figure of Malaysian sport.
02:42Read the tribute to Tan Yi Khan by Frankie De Cruz, Yi Khan, the crack that became legend,
02:46for a full portrait of the man behind the smash, his matches, his life, and his lasting legacy.
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