Ong Poh Lim

Ong Poh Lim
王保林
Ong Poh Lim in 1952
Personal information
Nickname(s)Gay Cavalier
CountryMalaya
Singapore
Born(1923-11-18)18 November 1923
Kuching, Kingdom of Sarawak
Died17 April 2003(2003-04-17) (aged 79)
Singapore
HandednessRight
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Malaya
Thomas Cup
1949 PrestonTeam
1952 SingaporeTeam
1955 SingaporeTeam
Ong Poh Lim
Chinese王保林
Transcriptions
Southern Min
Hokkien POJÔng Pó-lîm

Ong Poh Lim (Chinese: 王保林; pinyin: Wáng Bǎo Lín; 18 November 1923 – 17 April 2003) was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who had 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 All-England, Danish, French, Malayan, Singapore 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.