Ismail bin Marjan (7 June 1920 – 25 January 1991) was a badminton player from Malaya/Singapore who had won many individual and doubles titles at local, regional and international competitions throughout the 1940s and 1950s. He was best known for his doubles prowess as he partnered Ong Poh Lim to win several major honors in Asia and Europe.[2] Ismail was the first Malay to have won the prestigious Thomas Cup.[3]
Early life
Ismail was born on 7 June 1920, in British Malaya. He was the son of Haji Marjan. Ismail began playing badminton at a young age in the local Malay badminton community. He later competed at the junior levels of the Johore Bahru District and Malays' Championships[4][5] and found success in both the boys' singles and doubles events.[6][7]
Badminton career
Ismail's involvement in senior competitive badminton began when he joined the Dapat Badminton Party,[7] winning numerous titles at both local and regional tournaments. Thereafter, he joined the Devonshire Badminton Party[8] and was nurtured by Coach Yap Che Te. He soon became the "No. 2" singles player in Singapore, behind Wong Peng Soon.[9]
He began playing doubles with Ong Poh Lim whom he won the 1950 Malaysia Open men's doubles title.[10] In 1951, Ismail and Ong swept all major tournament titles during an eight-month tour of Europe, including the Danish, French and British doubles titles.[9] In the All England Badminton Championship of 1951, they made it to the final of the men's doubles but were defeated by Malaysian pair David Choong and Eddy Choong.[11] In 1952, he became world champion with the team of Malaya in the Thomas Cup[12] and won his second consecutive Denmark Open men's doubles titles with Ong.[13] In 1953 and 1956, he again won the Malaysia Open men's doubles titles with Ong.[14][15] As a pair, they also won seven consecutive Singapore Open men's doubles titles from 1950 to 1956.[16]
Ismail's doubles partnership with Ong was described by Wong Peng Soon as "the best doubles combination" he had ever seen. In the 1951 French Open men's singles semi-final, Ismail gave Ong a walkover so that the latter would be better rested for his final match against Wong Peng Soon. Ong went on to defeat Wong in the men's singles final as well as winning the men's doubles title with Ismail.[17]
Ismail's dedication to badminton was laudable as he was still serving as advisor to the F&N Badminton Training Scheme[18] up to his death. He had helped to coach the national team and the youths in the training scheme for several years.[19]
Personal life
Ismail had three sons and five daughters.[20] Two of his sons, Razali and Hassan, were coaches for Rose Badminton Party in Singapore.[2] The family lived at a kampong in Jalan Ladang back in the day.[21]
Death
Ismail died on 25 January 1991 at the Singapore General Hospital due to heart and stomach illness. He was 70 years old. He was buried at Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery.[2]
