Liem Swie King

Liem Swie King (Chinese: 林水鏡; pinyin: Lín Shuǐjìng; born 28 February 1956) is an Indonesian former badminton player who excelled from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. He won the All England in 1978, 1979 and 1981. Along with Morten Frost (Denmark), Han Jian and Luan Jin (China), and Prakash Padukone (India), he was one of the world's leading singles players of that era. A world level player in men's doubles as well as men's singles, he was known for the ferocity of his jumping smash.[1]

Liem Swie King
Personal information
Country Indonesia
Born (1956-02-28) 28 February 1956
Kudus Regency, Central Java, Indonesia
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Years active1974-1988
HandednessRight
Men's singles and Men's doubles
Highest ranking1

Early life

Liem was born on 28 February 1956 in Kudus Regency, Central Java.[2] His parents were Ng Thian Poo and Oei See Moi from Putian, Fujian.[3] He was the only son of eight children. During elementary school, he studied at Sekolah Tionghoa, and later moved to SD Negeri Dema'an II in 1965.[4] In 1974, he chose a name suggested by his older sister, Guntur (meaning: thunder), in order to comply with government direction for any Indonesian with Chinese name to adopt what is considered as an "Indonesian name",[5] however it did not affect how people addressed him in public or in competition. His physical trainer, Tahir Djide, said, "It is easier to pronounce King, rather than Guntur".[5]

Career

While watching a local badminton competition, Budi Hartono, the owner of a prestigious badminton club, Djarum Badminton Club, recognized Liem's talent at the age of 14. Despite the loss he took in the final match, Liem was invited to join the club.[6] With proper coaching, it did not take long for the teenage Liem to start overwhelming opponents with his fast-paced style in various local youth badminton tournaments.

In 1972 at the age of 15, Liem became the junior single champion of Central Java. In November 1972, he tasted his first international tournament, the First Djakarta Badminton Open Tournament, defeating Singapore's Ng Choi Yu in the first stage, before succumbing to Thailand's Sangob Ratananusorn. Later, he won Moenadi Cup, in men's singles and men's doubles categories, pairing with his childhood friend, Hariamanto Kartono.[7]

In 1973, Liem was called to join the provincial badminton squad for National Sports Competition (Pekan Olahraga Nasional) VIII. He reached the men's singles final by defeating senior players, before finally losing to a veteran national squad member, Iie Sumirat. In the same year, he won a local tournament, Kejuaraan Dunia Bulu Tangkis Piala Garuda (Garuda Cup Badminton World Championship) in Tegal.[8]

While still in high school, in 1974, Liem won the national championship. In the same year he participated in the All England for the first time. Later on, Liem won the All-England Men's Singles Championships in 1978, 1979 and 1981 during a six-consecutive-year run to the finals (19761981) of what was then perhaps the world's most prestigious badminton tournament. He was the runner-up at the then triennial World Championships in both 1980 and 1983 to, consecutively, fellow Indonesians Rudy Hartono and Icuk Sugiarto. He was a member of the Thomas Cup winning Indonesian teams of 1976, 1979, and 1984, playing both singles and doubles on the latter two occasions.[9] He also played in the Thomas Cup in the years 1982 and 1986. He was a bronze medalist in the men's doubles together with Kartono at the 1985 IBF World Championships in Calgary.

He retired from badminton in 1988, and now owns a health spa in Jakarta.

"King Smash"

Liem's is well known for his iconic jumping smash, which has been recognized as the most aggressive type of offensive strokes in badminton. Although some players were claimed to originate the move, Liem was widely accepted as the man who popularized the jumping smash. Different than most pro players before him who used hopping leg action to compensate the lateral gap to reach the shuttlecock, Liem effectively used higher vertical leap in executing his smash.

As his popularity increased, badminton enthusiasts around the world began to associate that kind of hard-hitting, leaping smash with Liem, earning it the nickname King Smash. Liem's move was considered revolutionary during his era, but now it has become a standard attacking skill for badminton pros.

Liem's vertical leap explosiveness came from his low crouching stance before launching his jump, he then intercepted the shuttlecock at high altitude with a ferocious whipping strike, or sometimes a deceptive drop shot which immobilized his opponent who was expecting a slamming hit from him. By intercepting the shuttlecock at higher altitude, Liem was able to deliver a shot with steeper angle. Given his average stature, his jump-smash made a quite dramatic visual for the spectators, due to the perceived height of his leap. In an interview, Liem explained that he began to do jump-smash around 1977. He liked fast-paced style and simply wanted to hit the shuttlecock quicker. No coaches complained about it since they saw it improved Liem's game.[10]

Racket known to have been used by Liem is Carbonex 15.

Personal life

King met his wife Lucia Alamsah in 1976 and they have three children, Alexander, Stephanie and Michelle. King's life and achievements were the inspiration for the 2009 Indonesian movie "King" (2009) in which he made a cameo appearance. That same year, Robert Adhi Kusumaputra published a biography on the Indonesian legend, titled "Call Me, King" (Panggil Aku, King).

Achievements

IBF World Championships

Men's Singles

1980 IBF World Championships – Men's Singles
Round Opponent Score Result
First round - - Bye
Second round Misbun Sidek 15–17, 15–3, 15–4 Win
Third round Stephen Wilson 15–1, 15–2 Win
Quarterfinal Masao Tsuchida 15–1, 15–2 Win
Semifinal Lius Pongoh 15–3, 15–3 Win
Final Rudy Hartono 9–15, 9–15 Silver
1983 IBF World Championships – Men's Singles
Round Opponent Score Result
First round Roy Díaz González 15–3, 15–4 Win
Second round Park Joo Bong 7–15, 15–4, 15–12 Win
Third round Steen Fladberg 15–6, 15–12 Win
Quarterfinal Chen Changjie 12–15, 15–5, 15–4 Win
Semifinal Han Jian 15–9, 15–3 Win
Final Icuk Sugiarto 8–15, 15–12, 16–17 Silver

Men's Doubles

1985 IBF World Championships – Men's Doubles
Round Partner Opponent Score Result
1st Hariamanto Kartono Iain Pringle
Alex White
w/o
2nd Chris Jogis
Kevin Hussey
15–8, 15–1 Win
QF Stefan Karlsson
Thomas Kihlström
18–16, 15–8 Win
SF Kim Moon-soo
Park Joo-bong
11–15, 15–17 Bronze

World Cup

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1979 Tokyo, Japan Iie Sumirat 15–8, 15–8 Gold
1982 Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Misbun Sidek 15–12, 3–15, 15–12 Gold
1984 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia Han Jian 14–17, 13–15 Bronze

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1984 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia Hariamanto Kartono Li Yongbo
Tian Bingyi
15–8, 15–1 Gold
1985 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia Hariamanto Kartono Li Yongbo
Tian Bingyi
15–11, 11–15, 15–11 Gold
1986 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia Bobby Ertanto Hadibowo Susanto
Rudy Heryanto
15–6, 15–5 Gold
1987 Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Eddy Hartono Park Joo-bong
Kim Moon-soo
7–15, 18–13, 13–15 Bronze

World Games

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1981 San Jose Civic Auditorium, California, United States Morten Frost 14–18, 15–11, 6–15 Bronze

Asian Games

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1974 Amjadieh Sport Complex, Tehran, Iran Tan Aik Mong 15–12, 15–10 Bronze
1978 Bangkok, Thailand Han Jian 15–7, 15–11 Gold
1982 New Delhi, India Han Jian Silver

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1986 Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul, South Korea Bobby Ertanto Li Yongbo
Tian Bingyi
6–15, 9–15 Bronze

Asian Championships

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1976 Hyderabad, India Hou Jiachang 16–17, 9–15 Silver

Southeast Asian Games

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1977 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dhany Sartika Gold
1981 Manila, Philippines Hastomo Arbi Gold

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1983 Singapore Badminton Hall, Singapore Hadibowo Susanto Bobby Ertanto
Christian Hadinata
Silver
1985 Bangkok, Thailand Hariamanto Kartono Razif Sidek
Jalani Sidek
15–6, 11–15, 5–15 Silver
1987 Kuningan Hall, Jakarta, Indonesia Eddy Hartono Sakrapee Thongsari
Sawei Chanseorasmee
17–14, 15–9 Gold

International tournaments

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1976 All England Rudy Hartono 7–15, 7–15 Runner-up
1977 All England Flemming Delfs 17–15, 11–15, 8–15 Runner-up
1977 Swedish Open Flemming Delfs 15–4, 15–8 Champion
1978 All England Rudy Hartono 15–10, 15–3 Champion
1978 Denmark Open Thomas Kihlström 8–15, 15–9, 15–7 Champion
1979 All England Flemming Delfs 15–7, 15–8 Champion
1980 All England Prakash Padukone 3–15, 10–15 Runner-up
1980 English Masters Rudy Hartono 15–11, 15–3 Champion
1981 All England Prakash Padukone 11–15, 15–4, 15–6 Champion
1983 Indonesia Open Hastomo Arbi 15–6, 15–1 Champion
1983 Malaysia Open Hastomo Arbi 15–11, 15–1 Champion
1984 All England Morten Frost 15–9, 10–15, 10–15 Runner-up
1984 Japan Open Morten Frost 8–15, 1–15 Runner-up
1984 World Grand Prix Finals Morten Frost 5-15, 4-15 Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1985 Indonesia Open Hariamanto Kartono Li Yongbo
Tian Bingyi
15–5, 15–10 Champion
1986 Indonesia Open Hariamanto Kartono Razif Sidek
Jalani Sidek
15–3, 12–15, 15–12 Champion
1987 Chinese Taipei Open Eddy Hartono Stefan Karlsson
Mark Christiansen
15–4, 15–5 Champion
1987 Japan Open Eddy Hartono Lee Deuk-choon
Shon Jin-hwan
15–4, 15–7 Champion
1987 Thailand Open Eddy Hartono Li Yongbo
Tian Bingyi
13–15, 11–15 Runner-up
1987 Indonesia Open Eddy Hartono Bobby Ertanto
Rudy Heryanto
15–6, 15–8 Champion
1988 US Open Prakash Padukone Christian Hadinata
Lius Pongoh
15–7, 11–15, 13–15 Runner-up

Award

Liem was inducted into the Badminton Hall of Fame in 2002.[9]

References

  1. The King Smash on YouTube
  2. Ksp 2009, p. 17
  3. http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201811/27/WS5bfce6c4a310eff30328b4f9.html
  4. Ksp 2009, pp. 15–16
  5. Ksp 2009, p. 21
  6. "Liem Swie King | BWF Virtual Museum". bwfmuseum.isida.pro (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  7. Ksp 2009, p. 33
  8. Ksp 2009, pp. 34–36
  9. Setyautama & Mihardja 2008, p. 214

Bibliography

  • Kusumaputra, Robert Adhi (2009). Panggil Aku King [Call Me King] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kompas. ISBN 978-979-709-421-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Setyautama, Sam; Mihardja, Suma (2008). Tokoh-Tokoh Etnis Tionghoa di Indonesia [Figures of Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia. ISBN 978-979-9101-25-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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