Ho Kah Yen will not be forgotten in badminton

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32017, 18 June 1969, Page 15

Ho Kah Yen will not be forgotten in badminton

TJO KAH YEN, whose death in the recent riots in Kuala Lumpur was reported last week, had a happy and fruitful association with the Canterbury Badminton Association and made many friends in his six years in the province. Although his studies for his Masters’ degree in Agricultural Economics limited the time he could devote to the game, he won and held his place in the Canterbury division 1 team and was raised to the important position of coach to that team in 1967. His contribution to the game was marked in 1967 when he became the first recipient of the Don Forbes Trophy for the best performance and sportsmanship in division 1 matches. His manner on the court was nonchalant and the speed with which he could unleash a shot with the flick of his wrist made many opponents languish in frustration as they stood flatfooted unable to counter his shot.

The elegance of his drop shots and clears and his deft touch at the net introduced a new dimension to the game locally. But he was strangely inconsistent in his play and in one game might

show the ability to beat any player and in the next lose interest and concentration. He beat all the leading Canterbury players more than once and had no peer in doubles matches. In the national final of the Wisden Cup in 1967, he teamed with B. W. Crofts to beat the New Zealand squad members, D. Stuart and M. Norton.

He played for Avonside and University In his first years in the inter-club competition but produced his best form and showed his sound coaching ability when he joined a fellow Malaysian, Lim Sang Meng, and Misses C. Reay and S. Dench and formed the Canterbury Malaysian Students’ team. The team finished second in the strong nine-field competition. Yen completed his masters’ thesis on trade between Malaysia and New Zealand and he hoped to use his knowledge and ideas for the benefit of both countries when he returned.