KUALA LUMPUR – The national badminton fraternity mourns the passing of one of its figures, Datuk Seri Dr Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan, who once led the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) for seven years.
He breathed his last at 3am today at a private hospital in the capital. He was 78.
Dr Abdullah Fadzil initially served as BAM's deputy president to the late Tan Sri Elyas Omar, who saw Malaysia lift the Thomas Cup for the last time in 1992 and win its first Olympic medal through the Sidek brothers, Datuk Razif-Datuk Seri Jalani in the men's doubles event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
The deceased, who had also served as the deputy foreign minister (1987-1995) and deputy defence minister (1995-1999), took over the leadership of BAM from 1993 to 2000.
During the period, Malaysia won its first silver medal at the Olympic Games through the men's doubles pair of Datuk Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and its first medal in the singles event when Datuk Rashid Sidek won bronze in the men’s singles.
BAM and its president, Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, also expressed sadness over the passing of Dr Abdullah Fadzil.
“Our condolences to his family. The deceased’s contribution to the sport of badminton will always be appreciated.
“His passing is a great loss to the country. May his soul be placed among the believers,” said Mohamad Norza when contacted.
In 2015, the media reported that Dr Abdullah Fadzil went missing in Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur and was found the same evening. He was believed to have been suffering from dementia, resulting in memory loss.
He was also Orang Kaya Kaya Panglima Kinta Seri Amar Bangsa DiRaja (Orang Besar of Perak) and served as the Bukit Gantang MP from 1986 to 2004. He is survived by his wife Datin Seri Ezatul Hamsiah Hussein and seven children. – Bernama, September 6, 2023
