Rudy Hartono

Rudy Hartono Kurniawan
Personal information
Birth name	Nio Hap Liang 梁海量[1]
Country	Indonesia
Born	(1949-08-18) 18 August 1949 Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia[1]
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Handedness	Right
Event	Men's singles
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Indonesia Olympic Games 1972 Munich Men's singles World Championships 1980 Jakarta Men's singles Thomas Cup 1970 Kuala Lumpur Team 1973 Jakarta Team 1976 Bangkok Team 1979 Jakarta Team 1967 Jakarta Team 1982 London Team Asian Games 1970 Bangkok Men's team

Rudy Hartono Kurniawan (born Nio Hap Liang (Chinese: 梁海量; pinyin: Liang Hailiang), 18 August 1949) is a former Indonesian badminton star who won the men's singles title at the prestigious All-England Championship eight times,^[2] seven times consecutively (1968–1974)^[3] and at World Championship in 1980 on his only attempt at this title. He is one of the most famous players in the history of the sport and is considered to be one of the greatest badminton players of all time.

Personal life

Hartono was born in Surabaya under the name Nio Hap Liang, is the third child of a family of eight, which also includes his sister Jeanne Utama Dewi, a five-time national champion and former Indonesia Uber Cup team member. The young Hartono embraced many types of sports – athletics, volleyball, football, and even roller skating – but his athletic path soon led him towards badminton. Rudy married Jane Anwar in 1976 and they have two children.

Badminton career

Hartono joined the National Training Center in 1965 in order to help his national team in the upcoming Thomas Cup. As a member of the 1966-1967 Thomas Cup squad, he won all of his matches, but Indonesia was beaten by Malaysia in a highly controversial final in which play was suspended due to the unruly crowd.

A year later, at his first try at the All England Championships, the 18-year-old Indonesian became the youngest ever champion of the tournament, beating Tan Aik Huang from Malaysia who had been the winner two years earlier. From then on, Hartono dominated the event like very few had before, winning eight titles in all, from 1968 to 1976. His eight titles at the All England earned Hartono a mention in the Guinness Book of Records.

Hartono defeated Svend Pri in the finals of the 1972 Munich Games in which badminton was presented as a demonstration sport.^[4] Hartono was active in Thomas Cup competition and played for his country at the event from 1967 to 1982. 1970,^[5] 1973,^[6] The 1976, and 1979 Thomas Cup were resounding successes for Hartono and his team, with Indonesia sweeping four straight titles.

Post-retirement

Rudy became involved with the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), holding different positions such as Chairman of Development Affairs until 2006. He is currently a member of PBSI’s Board of Honour. Hartono also played an active role within the Badminton World Federation (BWF). He was a member of the Council in 1985-1986, and later from 1994 to 2009. Hartono’s image and reputation led the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to appoint him as a Goodwill Ambassador for Indonesia.

Achievements

Titles (19)

Year	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score
1968	All England	Tan Aik Huang	15–12, 15–9
1969	All England	Darmadi	15–1, 15–3
1969	Singapore Open
1969	US Open	Muljadi	15–9, 15–12
1969	Canadian Open	Sture Johnsson	15–11, 15–1
1970	All England	Svend Pri	15–7, 15–1
1971	All England	Muljadi	15–1, 15–5
1971	Canadian Open	Ippei Kojima
1971	Denmark Open	Ippei Kojima	14-18, 15–14, 15–11
1972	All England	Svend Pri	15–9, 15–4
1972	Olympic Games	Svend Pri	15–6, 15–1
1972	World Invitation	Svend Pri	15–5, 15–2
1973	All England	Christian Hadinata	15–4, 15–2
1973	Denmark Open	Flemming Delfs
1974	All England	Punch Gunalan	8–15, 15–9, 15–10
1975	Denmark Open	Svend Pri	12–15, 15–0, 15–7
1976	All England	Liem Swie King	15–7, 15–7
1980	World Championships	Liem Swie King	15–9, 15–9
1981	Japan Open	Lius Pongoh	15–9, 15–8

Runners-up (4)

Year	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score
1975	All England	Svend Pri	11–15, 14–17
1978	All England	Liem Swie King	10–15, 3–15
1980	Swedish Open	Prakash Padukone	15–9, 12–15, 1–15
1980	English Masters	Liem Swie King	11–15, 3–15

Awards

• 1986 – BWF Herbert Scheele Award
• 1997 – BWF Hall of Fame

Sources

Cited