Malaysia’s Shuttle Queen: Rosalind Singha Ang

Russia, 1973

“When you hear your national anthem being played in a foreign land…Wow. It’s superb. In that one moment you feel that the nine months you just spent training was nothing and well worth it.”

This is how Malaysia’s original ‘Shuttle Queen’, Rosalind Ang describes the thrill of the game. Having represented the country in three Commonwealth Games and various other competitions, the former Malaysian national badminton player shares with us the memories of her glory days.

“I started playing badminton completely by fluke. I first started playing badminton on gravel with my cousins at the back of my grandmother’s house,” says Rosalind.

Rosalind Singha Ang was born in 1941 in the Yala province of southern Thailand. She remained in Thailand until the age of six. Her family then moved to Penang where her father registered her in the Pulau Tikus Convent School, which she attended up till Form 6.

Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand 1974

Rosalind initially came into the limelight when she won the Penang Junior Championship. A family friend fondly known as Uncle Chee asked Rosalind to partner his daughter to play junior doubles when she was seventeen years old. He sponsored her equipment and hall rental. It was the first time she received any form of training, and it was free. She entered the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles events and became a triple champion.

Rosalind then moved to Kedah to work. She played for the police force as they needed players for competitions. The late Dr M Sundararajan who was an acquaintance of her aunt, Datin Mary Ritchie of Penang asked her to get Rosalind to play at Sunrock Club in Kedah. This was where she began her serious foray into competitive badminton.

Dr Sundararajan would advise players on their training. The onus was on the players to perform their training independently. Rosalind would wake up every day at 6:30 am and run for an hour before heading to work.

“I did skipping in the afternoon from 2 to 3pm. Because this is the time when it is very hot and you can get used to the heat. In the badminton hall it is very hot. So you get used to the temperature. Skipping is good because it makes the body light. So when you move in court, you will be faster and more agile and have more stamina,” explains Rosalind.

Her training would resume after work at around 7pm. Rosalind would go to Sunrock Club, sweep the court and then play up till 10pm. She played singles and doubles depending on how many people showed up. Dr Sundararajan would coordinate sparring partners during these sessions.

“I owe a lot to the club members at Sunrock,” says Rosalind fondly.

The players would be tired and exhausted but Dr Sundararajan would push them to go the extra mile.

“He’d say, ‘Play one more. One more singles.’ I was so tired and wanted to call it a day already but he would ask me to play another match. So I went in and whacked the fella out in a straight set,” says Rosalind proudly with a mischievous grin.

Dr M Sundararajan (left) with the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Permaisuri Agong, 1971

She maintained her day job at Malayan Banking while she played badminton. The sporting scene at the time was much unlike today where an athlete’s career was solely their sport.

“They would allow me to take leave for competitions as it meant publicity for them. I was lucky to have a job in a bank. Other players worked as meter readers and things like that,” says Rosalind.

With Dr Sundararajan’s support, Rosalind was sent to India in 1965 for her first international match with the late Teo Siew Yong. They played the Nehru Memorial Championship doubles in Lucknow, and won the silver medal. This was when she realised their potential.

“That was the first taste of victory. No doubt we didn’t get first, but runner up. But we knew that our standard was not too bad, coming from a small town like Alor Setar.”

She also won the singles event gold at the SEAP games that same year. Rosalind explained that the achievement motivated her to maintain if not improve her standards, to play her best as much as possible.

“That was the first gold medal I got for Malaysia. That was a good start and it kept me there for twenty years,” reminisces Rosalind.

Ironically, Rosalind’s first medal was by way of a cycling event held during the 1957 Merdeka celebrations in Penang.

Rosalind’s friend Annie needed a teammate for her event and asked Rosalind to compete with her. Cyclists in a team support one another to get ahead by blocking other cyclists. Unsure of her abilities, Rosalind emerged as a dark horse, taking the silver behind Annie’s gold.

With Dr Sundararajan’s tireless efforts and support, Rosalind gained a coveted spot on the Malaysian team. She moved to Kuala Lumpur and lived with a friend, Ronald Khoo and his wife Shirley. She developed a better diet as they advised her on nutrition and cooked hearty meals for her.

Rosalind would study other players to learn techniques. She observed players whose style she admired.

“When you watch them, their signature moves register in your mind and you begin to adapt these moves into your own play. You have to have an idol,” explains Rosalind.

“Nowadays I feel people are more drawn to sports because they get good facilities, good prizes and training than what we had before.”

Rosalind Singha Ang

Rosalind believes that the nature and popularity of sports has soared due to the constantly advancing technology of communications.

“The recent Olympic badminton championships were made available live via television whereas previously coverage was poor or possibly non-existent back in my day.”

Towards the end of her badminton career, she began coaching other women. Under her coaching, the Malaysian team ladies came home with an impressive medal haul after the 8^th SEAP games 1975 in Bangkok. They received gold medals for each event they participated in, namely doubles, mixed doubles and the team event.

Rosalind retired three years later at the top of her game. 35 years later, her title has still not been toppled. Shortly after she left her job at Malayan Banking and became a project manager for quarrying in Langkawi, which she still does to this day.

When asked what she does in her spare time, her response is an endearing “I talk to my plants!”

“If I’m going away for three days I’ll go tell my lemon tree that ‘I’m giving you extra water because I’ll be away and take care of yourself.”

She takes me on a tour of her mini orchard in her backyard and lovingly shows me her lemon and mango trees, heavily laden with fruit.

“Traveling is my greatest hobby. And driving. And lately Sudoku!” she informs, laughing.

Rosalind’s legacy and effects have been inducted into the collections at the Kedah Museum and more notably the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur, Thailand Hall of Fame as well as the Malaysia Hall of Fame. Through her achievements and passion for the game, there is no doubt that Rosalind Singha Ang is a true icon of Malaysian sports and thoroughly deserves her crown. All hail the Shuttle Queen.

 

 

 

 

Year	Competition	Event	Medal
1965	Nehru Memorial Championship India	Doubles	Silver
	SEAP Games	Singles	Gold
		Doubles	Silver
1966	Asian Games	Mixed doubles	Gold
	Commonwealth Games (Kingston)	Doubles	Bronze
1967	SEAP Games	Doubles	Gold
		Singles	Silver
1969	SEAP Games	Doubles	Gold
		Mixed doubles	Silver
	Malaysian Championship	Singles	Gold
		Doubles	Gold
	Singapore Open Championship	Doubles	Silver
1970	Commonwealth Games (Edinburgh)	Doubles	Bronze
	Asian Games	Doubles	Bronze
1971	SEAP Games	Singles	Gold
		Doubles	Silver
		Mixed doubles	Silver
1972	National Championship	Singles	Silver
1973	SEAP Games	Doubles	Gold
		Singles	Silver
1974	Commonwealth Games (Christchurch)	Doubles	Bronze
1975	SEAP Games	Doubles	Gold
		Team event	Gold
		Mixed doubles	Gold

Tagged: badminton, Commonwealth Games, doubles, gold, Malaysia, mixed doubles, Rosalind Ang, Rosalind Singha Ang, Shuttle Queen, singles

Posted in: Features