Misbun Sidek

Misbun received his early education in local primary schools which were located in his hometown of Banting and later furthered his studies at Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur.

Mohd Sidek, his father, had a vision to see his children become badminton aces by training his eldest son, Misbun from an early age. By the age of seven in 1967, Misbun had begun to be seriously trained by his father at the badminton court in front of their house in Kampung Kanchong Darat, Banting, Selangor.

The same routine was later passed on to his brothers, the Sidek family which consisted of his popular brothers namely himself, Razif, Jalani, Rahman and Rashid. They were once the pride of Malaysia's badminton from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.[3]

Misbun won his first title on the international circuit at the 1981 German Open.[4] He helped Malaysia's national squad win the Silver medal at the SEA Games. In the team event, he beat Indonesia’s leading player and reigning All England champion Liem Swie King.[5][6] For his triumphs in badminton, Misbun was named Malaysia's Sportsman of the Year,[7] a feat he repeated two years later.[8]

After defeating Morten Frost[9] and Prakash Padukone[10] on his way to the final, Misbun suffered a disappointment at the 1982 Badminton World Cup by failing to clinch the title from a 10-1 third-set lead over Liem Swie King.[11] He also known for the infamous “S” Service, which caused a deceptively erratic shuttle movement, which confounded their opponents and officials alike. The service caused much uproar and was eventually banned by the International Badminton Federation (IBF) in 1982.[12]

In October 1983, Misbun turned professional and signed a contract to be represented by the International Management Group (IMG), which then represented such sports stars as Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sebastian Coe and Alberto Salazar.[13]

In January 1985, the Sidek family made history when they became the largest sibling group ever to represent the country abroad in the same sporting event. Misbun, Razif, Jalani, Rahman and Rashid were all selected to compete at the Hong Kong Open.[14]

In 1986, Misbun reached the final of the All England Open for the only time in his career but he was beaten decisively there by Morten Frost.[15]

Misbun's last full year at the top level of badminton on 1988, was rather special to him because he played on a Malaysian National Badminton team which defeated their traditional rival Indonesia[16] for the first time in 21 years before losing the final to China.[17]

Misbun was on the coaching staff, as his brother Rashid Sidek played men singles, for the 1992 Malaysia team which captured the Thomas Cup after a 25-year drought. In 1996, he and his brothers established a badminton club to find new talented players, called Nusa Mahsuri.[18] He was a coach in Nusa Mahsuri, the first professional badminton club in Malaysia from 1996 to 2002.

He is Malaysia national team men's singles coach from 2003-2010. He has coached Malaysia's leading singles players from 1990s, including Rashid Sidek, the Hashim brothers, Roslin Hashim and Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, Wong Choong Hann, Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo. Under his coaching, Wong Mew Choo reached World No 7 in female category of BWF ranking. Roslin Hashim and Wong Choong Hann reached the World No 1 in BWF ranking. Wong Choong Hann also became silver medalist in BWF World Championships under his coaching. Meanwhile Hafiz Hashim won All-England champion and became World No 5 in BWF ranking under his coaching. Lee Chong Wei also reached the World No 1 in BWF ranking and the 2008 Olympics men's singles final and became Olympic silver medalist and won countless of BWF tournaments under his coaching. [19] In July 2017, Misbun was reappointed as Malaysia national team men's singles head coach. Lee Zii Jia was coached by him during Zii Jia's early career at those period. [20]

He was married to Datin Latifah Sidek in 1987 until her death of COVID-19 on 23 July 2021.[21][22] They have six children: Misbun Syawal Misbun, 32, twins, Lia Murni and Misbun Ramdan, 30, Lia Alifah, 26, Lia Dewi Rubita, 25 and Misbun Awalauddin, 21 (ages as of July 2021). Misbun Ramdan is also a professional badminton player.

He is portrayed by Rosyam Nor in the 2018 biopic film on Malaysian badminton player Lee Chong Wei Lee Chong Wei: Rise of the Legend released on March 15, 2018.[23]

Second film titled 'Gold' portrayed by Wan Raja and pair with Farid Kamil as Rashid Sidek. Coming soon in 2024

•  Malaysia :
  • Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (1982)[24]
  • Herald of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia (BSD) (1988)[25]
  • Commander of the Order of Meritorious Service (PJN) – Datuk (2021)[26]
•  Malacca :
  • Companion Class I of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DMSM) – Datuk (2008)

• Razif Sidek
• Jalani Sidek
• Rahman Sidek
• Rashid Sidek