Ong Poh Lim
| Ong Poh Lim | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Gay Cavalier | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country |
 Singapore
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| Born |
18 November 1922 Kuching, Kingdom of Sarawak (now Malaysia) |
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| Died | 17 April 2003 (aged 80) Singapore |
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| Handedness | Right | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Ong Poh Lim | |||||||
| Chinese | 王保林 | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | Ông Pó-lîm |
Ong Poh Lim (Chinese: 王保林; pinyin: Wáng Bǎo Lín; 18 November 1922 – 17 April 2003) was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who won numerous national and international titles from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Known for his quickness and his aggressive, unorthodox playing style, Ong won many singles and doubles titles, including the Singapore, Malaysia, All-England, French, Danish and Thomas Cup championships in the 1940s and 1950s. He also invented the backhand flick serve known as the “crocodile serve”, a tactic that had been routinely used in the modern game. Ong was a keen rival to badminton legend Wong Peng Soon.
Ong was born on 18 November 1922, in Kuching, Sarawak. He was the son of Mr Ong and Mrs Ong Kheng Hong. Ong, then a student of St.Thomas's School, Kuching, took a serious interest in badminton only after the visit of two Singapore badminton champions Leow Kim Fatt and Yap Chin Tee to Kuching in 1937. In June 1947, he went to Singapore to work as well as looking for opportunity to improve his attacking game. He was greatly assisted by Yap Chin Tee, a former high level player in Singapore. Ong, remained a bachelor for his whole life and he lived alone at Sennett Close. Besides badminton, Ong was also interested in antiques. He was a keen philatelist and amassed an extensive collection of rare and unusual stamps from all over the world, including those from Indonesia, Sarawak, Brunei and the Straits Settlements. Former president of Singapore, the late Dr. Wee Kim Wee, was an old friend of his.
Ong excelled in badminton during his school days and held the Sarawak singles and doubles titles from 1938 to 1941. He moved to Singapore after World War II, where he played for Marigold Badminton Party, a well-established rival to Mayflower Badminton Party, which produced Wong Peng Soon and a number of other prominent badminton players of that era.
Ong won the Singapore Open men's singles title four times from 1952 to 1955 and the men's doubles title seven times from 1950 to 1956 with Ismail Marjan. He also created history by capturing the Singapore Open singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles over three consecutive years, from 1953 to 1955.
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