Ismail Marjan

Ismail bin Marjan (1920 – 25 January 1991) was a badminton player from Malaya/Singapore who won many individual and doubles titles at local, regional and international competitions throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

In this Malay name, the name Marjan is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Ismail.

Ismail Marjan
Personal information
Birth nameIsmail bin Haji Marjan
Country Singapore
Born1920
Died25 January 1991 (aged 70)
Singapore
HandednessRight
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Malaya
Thomas Cup
1952 SingaporeTeam

Ismail's involvement in badminton began when he joined the Dapat Badminton Party,[1] winning numerous titles at both local and regional tournaments. After that, he joined the Devonshire Badminton Party[2] and was nurtured by Coach Yap Che Te. He soon became the "No. 2" singles player in Singapore, behind Wong Peng Soon.

He began playing doubles with Ong Poh Lim with whom he won the 1950 Denmark Open and the 1950 Malaysia Open in the men's doubles. 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.[3] 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.[4] In 1952, he became world champion with the team of Malaya in the Thomas Cup.[5] In 1953 and 1956, he again won the Malaysia Open men's doubles titles with Ong. As a pair, they also won consecutive Singapore Open men's doubles titles from 1950 to 1956.[6]

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.[7]

Ismail's dedication to badminton was laudable as he was still serving as advisor to the F&N Badminton Training Scheme[8] up to his death. He had helped to coach the national team and the youths in the training scheme for several years.[9]

Ismail died on 25 January 1991[10] at the Singapore General Hospital due to heart and stomach illness. He was 70 years old.

Awards

Ismail was inducted into the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) Sports Museum Hall of Fame in 1986.[3]

Career Achievements
Year Tournament Discipline Result
1950 Denmark Open[11] Men's doubles Winner
1950 Malaysia Open Men's doubles Winner
1951 All England[12] Men's doubles Runner-up
1951 French Open[13] Men's doubles Winner
1951 Denmark Open (2)[11] Men's doubles Winner
1952 Thomas Cup[14] Team Winner
1953 Malaysia Open (2) Men's doubles Winner
1956 Malaysia Open (3) Men's doubles Winner
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gollark: There is probably mental stuff which is both interesting and not conveniently consciously accessible, though.

References
  1. "J.B. Badminton Champion". The Straits Times. 10 August 1941.
  2. "Inter-Club Badminton Semi-Final". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 13 October 1941.
  3. "SSC Sports Museum Hall of Fame". Singapore Sports Council. 12 October 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.
  4. "Peng Soon retains the title". The Straits Times. 11 March 1951.
  5. "Those glorious badminton days of the Fifties". Singapore Monitor. 5 June 1985.
  6. "Marvellous Marjan, master of the shuttle". New Nation. 8 July 1975.
  7. "Ong Poh Lim feat. Ismail Marjan". Singapore Infopedia. 2010.
  8. "F&N scheme to start an elite team". The Straits Times. 28 March 1986.
  9. "Ismail bin Haji Marjan (Oral History Interview)". National Archives of Singapore. 7 December 1989.
  10. "Badminton great Ismail dies". The Straits Times. 26 January 1991.
  11. "Denmark Open past winners". Badmintondenmark.com. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  12. "It's mind over matter for badminton legend". The Jakarta Post. 13 February 2005.
  13. "Fédération Française de Badminton". Badmintoneurope.com. 2015.
  14. "Thomas Cup past winners". Victorsport.com. 15 October 2014.
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